


Is My Life Really Like This?

by Angel_Dawn_Nimbus



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck and Eddie Actually Talk it Out, Double Date, Family Dinner, Flashbacks, Getting Together, M/M, Parents visit, Shannon is alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22725631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_Dawn_Nimbus/pseuds/Angel_Dawn_Nimbus
Summary: A series of moments in Buck and Eddie’s relationship. Looking back to the start of their relationship and the now.
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 7
Kudos: 141





	1. You're Coming Here?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort of different version of How Come We've Really Heard Anything About Your Parents? 
> 
> Evelyn and Elijah don't play a huge part in the story like the last one. There are some major plot changes in this one. 
> 
> I re-edited the first chapter I wasn't fully happy with it. Hopefully it flows a bit better now.

_May 2020_

Buck stepped up to Eddie and pressed a kiss to his cheek before sitting down at the dining room table at the firehouse. Buck and Eddie tried to be professional at work, but sometimes there were lapses in judgement.

“Mom and Dad are coming to visit in a couple of weeks."

Buck and Eddie had been together for just over a year now. Eddie was the one who had gotten the courage to ask Buck on a date around a year after he and Shannon had decided to get a divorce. To start with the divorce wasn’t a mutual thing. Shannon had sprung it on Eddie, and it had taken him a few days to realize that it was what they both needed. The needed a fresh start and not with each other. They weren’t happy together anymore.

They’d always love each other, sure. But they definitely weren’t in love with each other. There had been a time where Eddie thought he was in love with her. If they were honest with each other they had just stayed together because it was comfortable, and they had Christopher. Back then they didn’t really know any different. 

Shannon had found someone new. She was happy with her life now. There were a few times she had nearly up and left without a word. There were things about herself she needed to work on. She needed to reflect on why she was running every time things went south. She now saw a therapist once a fortnight to help come to terms with everything. She had even roped Buck into sitting down with her and talking with her about her urges to run, Buck was one of the least judgmental people she knew. He mostly had just wanted to understand and how he could help her. They were actually really good friends now. They had double dates with her and her partner Matthew. Which was a little awkward when they first started off.

**­_**

Buck had been confused during those first few moments after Eddie had asked him out, he had thought that Eddie was just asking about having another guys' night. He hadn't even been thinking that Eddie was interested in dating him. They had never really spoken to each other about their sexualities. It wasn't something that had ever come up.

After Eddie had confirmed that he had meant an actual date he had been surprised but mostly excited. He had been wanting it for a long time, but hadn’t realized that Eddie had wanted the same. He hadn’t realized that Eddie had wanted to get back into the dating scene, especially with him.

They decided together that they didn’t want to jump straight into a physical relationship. They needed the time together to transition from best friends to lovers. It came as no surprise to them when everything came to them naturally. They had already been in sync with each other before starting to date. Now they seemed to work even better together.

_

Buck hadn’t been prepared for the message his Dad had sent him, saying they had booked tickets to come to LA for a visit and couldn’t wait to see Eddie and Christopher again. His parents always did this, they knew if they gave Buck fair warning he’d try get out of the visits.

Don’t get him wrong. He loved his parents, but he had his own life. He wanted them to come, of course he did. There were just other parts of him that didn’t. His parents just wanted to be included in his life. He was a lot closer to his Dad than he was his Mom. It wasn't always like that. 

When he had first come out at seventeen, it was his Dad who was the most supportive. His Mom took a little longer to understand. She tried to come to terms with her son being Bisexual. Buck spent those first few days crying to his Dad. He couldn’t go to his Mom. She needed space to try to realize that her son was still the same person he just liked men as well as women.

It took Buck longer to be able to trust his Mom again. He was always wary that she was going to change her mind and disown him. Months after he had come out right before he left for college, it had all come to head. They end up crying together about all the missed moments together and how sorry she was for not being supportive like he needed her to be. Buck tried to make her understand that he was still the same person, and her acting the way she was, was tearing him apart. There were things he needed his Mom for, and she hadn’t been there when he needed her.

They had a much better relationship now. He loved his Mom, but he still had those anxieties about her disowning and her not being there for him.

_

They had just finished lunch when the firehouse alarms went off. They rushed out to the trucks and headed off to the scene.

_

The scene was a small house fire. The fire had started in the kitchen. One of the tenants had left food unattended and it had caught fire.

“All tenants of the house have been accounted for. We now just have to get the fire under control."

They had to get to the source of the fire before they could start extinguishing it. There was always a risk that the building could collapse while they were inside. Adrenaline started racing as they prepared to extinguish the fire. There was no one who needed rescuing this time round, they just needed to work out the best possible way to extinguish the kitchen fire which had now spread.

Luckily, Buck hadn’t rushed straight in. He needed to work on his impulse control. It had gotten him into trouble multiple times in the past.

Hen and Chimney were checking over the tenants who had escaped the building. Mostly it was just smoke inhalation. There were a few scrapes and bruises they had gotten in the rush to get out of the house.

_

It had taken a couple of hours to fully put out the fire. It was getting to the end of shift and Buck just wanted to go home and crawl into bed with Eddie. 

They got back to the station in time for the changeover to the next shift.

Buck sluggishly peeled off his turnout gear. Eddie was standing next to him doing the same. Buck wanted a shower. They all were tired. They were just finishing up a 24-hour shift. At least they had the day off tomorrow to sleep in.

“All right, you lot. Head home and get some rest. We all need it." Bobby called out through the station.

The next team was taking over. The alarm went off just as Buck and Eddie were leaving for the parking lot. Eddie was driving tonight. They were both shattered, once they got home they needed showers to get the soot and grit off their skin. They also needed and sleep. They hadn't gotten a lot of it while on shift in between calls.

_

Buck’s phone rang as soon as they walked in the door.

“Ugh, no. Why now?"

Buck peered down at his phone. _Dad_ had come up on the screen.

“Hi Dad, this better be important. I just got off a 24-hour shift."

“Then go to bed. Why did you answer the phone?"

“Because you called me. I wasn’t going to ignore your call. You would just call back until I picked up." Buck muttered pulling off his shoes. Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck’s dirty cheek and went to have a shower first while Buck talked to Elijah.

“That is a good point."

“Anyway, if you just got off a 24-hour shift why aren’t you going to bed? Eddie and I are not too far off. I just need to shower. I am quite sooty from our last call."

Buck flopped down onto a chair in the dining room. He didn't want to get soot on their couch. He could literally fall asleep right now. He was about to start drifting off.

“Your Mom wanted me to confirm that you were fine with us coming to stay in a couple of weeks."

“Should be fine. If it's not, there’s always Maddie’s place."

“You don’t want to put up your own parents?" Elijah joked.

“Not what I was saying. But you are Maddie's parents, too, We do have the spare room it should be fine. Just let me know the details. I’ll make sure someone can get you from the airport."

“You know I was joking. I’ll let you shower and get to bed. I think you and Eddie have the right idea. I love you, Evan. Talk soon."

“Night Dad. Love you, too."

_

Buck went to the bathroom and had a quick shower. The water was turning a dark gray colour with the soot washing off his skin.

He quickly went through his night-time routine and padded his way into his and Eddie’s bedroom. He didn’t need to check on Christopher as he was at Shannon’s for a couple more days.

“You finally decided to come to bed, did you?" Eddie was already in bed. He was leaning up against the pillows scrolling through his phone waiting for Buck to come to bed.

“My parents are coming to visit." Buck sat down on the edge of the bed and started pulling off his clothes. He stripped down to his boxers and went to snuggle up to Eddie.

“I know. Remember you told me earlier. Go to sleep."

Buck snuggled closer into Eddie and closed his eyes.

“Good night. Love you..." Buck breathed. Not even a minute later he was out.

_

“What’s the plan for your parents visit?"

Buck was standing at the stove cooking breakfast for the two of them. Eddie was putting on a load of washing. They needed to clean their home. They had neglected their chores for a few days while they had been on shift.

“All I know is Mom and Dad are coming to visit in a couple of weeks and someone needs to get them from the airport. You need to be prepared to face my parents."

“ _Mi Amor._ I don’t know why you keep thinking they are these terrible people. I’ve met them before remember." Eddie called out from the laundry room.

“I never called them terrible people. Sometimes they can just be a bit much is all."

They were a bit much sometimes. Last time they visited they were just a tad overprotective of Buck since he had been injured. He did love and miss his parents, but there was only so much time you can spend around them before you all drive each other insane.

Eddie stepped into the kitchen shaking his head. Buck was making it out to be worse than it was.

“ _Evan._ It will be fine. It will be great to finally see them again. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them the last time they were here. It will be good having them around. Christopher misses them you know. He does ask you about seeing them again. Remember?"

“Whatever you say. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."


	2. Why Do You Want To Run?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and rewrote chapter one, some things are still the same, but there are some changes if you want to go back and read them.

_Flashback:_

_End of March 2019_

Buck was sitting on the couch in Shannon’s new home watching her carefully. He had been surprised when she had called him. Interestingly enough, she had come to him panicking. He had not been expecting her to call him. She was pacing the length of the living room while biting her nails.

She had been trying to tell him something. It was all coming out a bit jumbled. He picked out a few words in her rambling. It seems like she was trying to tell him that she wanted to get out. Everything was getting to be too much for her. She didn’t know who to turn to. She didn’t have many people to turn to in this situation. She wanted someone that would give it to her straight and not sugar coat it.

She was trying to fight the urge as she didn’t want to abandon Christopher again. She didn’t want to let him down again. It had been hard on Christopher the first time she had left. It would break his heart if she left him now.

She knew how Eddie’s family felt when she left Eddie the first time. They were protective of him. They didn’t want to see him hurt again. It had crushed him the first time she had left. In all actuality, he had left them first, but he had been serving overseas at the time. She didn’t have that excuse to fall back on. She knew that Eddie’s family weren’t the biggest fans of her relationship with Eddie to begin with.

At least she had been trying to stick around to be a mother to Christopher. Maybe Eddie’s family would lighten up on her now that she and Eddie were divorced.

She didn’t want to leave, but the instinct to run was strong. She had done it before why couldn’t she just do it again. It would be easy enough for her to just up and leave again without a word to anyone. But last time she’d hurt so many people. One side of her was telling her to stay. Make it work. You'll figure it out. The other side of her was saying just leave and protect yourself from being hurt again.

“You know biting your nails is a bad habit," Buck quipped, trying to lighten the mood. He had no idea why Shannon came to him for this. No one ever came to him for advice. They all seemed to underestimate him.

“Don’t get me wrong. I want to help. But in all seriousness, why did you come to me for all this?"

Shannon and Eddie had just gotten divorced. It was a mutual decision, well, maybe not to begin with. Shannon knew that they weren’t working together; they had just been forcing a relationship that neither of them had wanted. They didn’t fit together anymore. They didn’t make sense.

Christopher was confused when his parents told him they were getting divorced. He couldn’t quite grasp what had happened for them to make that decision. He didn’t know that anything had been going wrong between them.

It was taking him some time to get used to the idea. He didn’t quite understand that they hadn’t been happy together. They had tried to explain it to him in a way he understood. Even Buck tried to help. He sort of understood what was happening. He mostly just knew that his parents weren’t going to be married anymore. He needed time to fully grasp what was happening.

“I don’t know. You are one of the least judgemental people I know. Also, I don't have many people I can go to with this sort of thing. I just need someone to help me process everything. At the moment it is all jumbled. I’m mostly just scared." Shannon breathed out in a rush. She was still looking panicked.

“Take a deep breath. You are panicking. You need to relax." Shannon sat herself down on the couch next to Buck and tried to slow her breathing.

“What exactly are you scared of? You could have run at any time, but you haven’t yet. Why not?"

“I get these feelings just telling me to run. To get out of there while I still can. That I am no good for them. Leave, before you make it worse. I’m scared of Christopher turning into me. He is such a happy child. I don’t want him becoming someone who just runs whenever something doesn’t turn out the way he wants it to."

“We all get feelings where we don’t want to risk breaking our own hearts. We are all terrified of risking our hearts. We get scared and run away when we know we could risk everything. It is hard to change those habits. But isn’t it worth the risk?"

“I have no idea. But it is just some irrational fear that I’m going to screw up."

“Let me tell you. We all screw up, that’s what makes us human. It’s when we keep trying even though we’ve made mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. Haven’t you learnt that from running the last time? You broke Eddie and Christopher’s hearts. Do you really want to do that again?"

Shannon let a tear slip down her cheek. “No, I don’t want to hurt them again. What if I end up hurting them anyway?"

“You try everything in your power to make them believe that you aren’t going anywhere. That you are willing to try even though you are scared."

“I’m not good enough for them. I never was." Buck couldn’t get through to Shannon. He was trying it didn’t seem like she was hearing him.

“It’s not about being good enough. We all think that about ourselves. Christopher adores you. He is so happy that you are his Mom, nothing will ever change that. You just have to be there. That is all he ever wants."

As Buck watched Shannon, she still looked conflicted about the next path to take.

“Look at it this way. You are still learning. You know what. So, is Eddie. He has no idea what he is doing half the time, but he is trying to be the best parent he can be for Christopher. Christopher just needs to know that you are there whenever he needs you."

“How do you know what Christopher wants?"

“Because that is what every child wants. To know that they have someone there for them."

_

Shannon ended up staying. She wanted to try and work through her issues instead of running away. She was still terrified that she was going to mess everything up, but she was trying. She was happier now than she had ever been.

It was strange. Her and Buck had grown closer after that day. They seemed to understand each other a great deal more.

They were just friends of course. They weren’t that close, but they were friendly with each other. Maybe as time went by, they’d be better friends, but for now they just were friends who saw each other occasionally. Buck definitely wasn’t interested in Shannon romantically. He had someone else in mind. Not that it would ever happen. He could only dream.

_

Eddie was nervous. He didn’t know how Shannon would react. They were in a good place right now. They were divorced. It was about time to be honest. They never should have tried their relationship again in the first place.

But it was done now. They were both happier. They were now just friends who co-parented and shared custody of their son.

Eddie was standing on Shannon’s doorstep. He hadn’t knocked yet. He was getting up the nerve.

The door opened suddenly.

“Are you just going to stand out there? Or are you going to come in?"

Eddie laughed a little hysterically.

“Eddie? Are you alright? Is Christopher ok?" Shannon was starting to look panicked. He should probably say something before she jumped to conclusions.

“Christopher is fine. He's hanging out with his Buck today."

Shannon relaxed and she held the door open wider for him to step into.

“What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Shannon made her way into her living room and sat down, she waited for Eddie to do the same.

“I know we’ve only been divorced just under a year and after everything that has happened... But anyway, I don’t know if it is alright to talk to you about this sort of thing. Is it too weird? Am I crazy for wanting to do this?"

“Eddie. Maybe you should stop. Take a breath to relax yourself and try again. I am so confused right now."

Eddie tried to take a breath, but apparently that wasn’t working for him. He tried again. He was a little calmer now.

“I wanted to ask Buck on a date."

Shannon lit up with excitement. She let out a small excited squeal that was weirdly out of character for her.

Eddie had not been expecting that reaction. He was expecting a bit more discomfort about the whole situation.

“Uh, what?"

“I am so happy for you!" She pulled Eddie swiftly into her arms. Eddie was so confused. What was going on with Shannon. She was not reacting how he was expecting.

“With how much you and Christopher talk about Buck, I’m surprised you didn’t ask for a divorce sooner."

“Have I stepped into some weird alternate universe or something. What the hell is going on?"

“Eddie, please. You and I both know we should have gotten a divorce a long time ago. We weren’t happy. Buck makes you happy. I just want you to be happy. Also, I may have already met someone..."

“Hang on Shannon. I haven’t even gotten around to asking him yet. He may just end up saying no."

“What planet are you on? I swear you two are literally the last ones to know that you both are so in love with each other. I swear everyone you know ships you two together."

“I never said I was in love with him." Eddie spluttered. He had never used those words to anyone, not even himself. He had never admitted that he was in love with Buck. But here was his ex-wife casually saying that he was one of the last to know.

“Say it with me now. I Eddie Diaz are in love with Evan Buckley." Shannon spoke slowly looking at Eddie.

Now Eddie was uncomfortable. He didn’t want the first time he admitted it to someone to be his ex-wife. He wanted Buck to be the first person to hear it.

“I’m not going to say that. I should be telling Buck first before anyone else. Also, what the hell is shipping?"

“Fine, but just know I will be bugging you about it until you do."


	3. Would You Like To Have Dinner With Me?

_April 2019_

Eddie and Buck were hanging out together at Buck’s apartment. They tried to do a movie night every couple of weeks with just the two of them. They needed that time together he needed to have actual adult conversations every now and again that weren't work related. 

They would still have movie nights with Christopher as well. When he wasn’t at Shannon’s for the week at least. They were still trying to get into a routine. It was taking some getting used to that he didn’t have Christopher with him at home all the time. He now had to get used to sharing him again.

Also, apparently, Shannon had started dating. That was news to him. He was happy for her; it was going to take some getting used to them both moving on from their relationship. Once upon a time, he was happy with her, but now they were better off apart. Staying together wasn’t good for either of them.

Eddie hadn’t met the guy yet, but Shannon had asked if they could do a double date. Her with her new boyfriend Matthew and Eddie with Buck.

He had yet to ask Buck out yet. He had spoken to Shannon about asking Buck out two weeks ago. He was being a bit of a coward. The worst Buck could say was no and their friendship would be a little awkward for a bit, but eventually, everything would go back to normal.

But he didn’t want that. He wanted to be with Buck. He just had to get up the nerve to actually ask Buck on a date.

He was a bit terrified.

_

This was it.

He was about to ask Buck on a date.

He was trying to psych himself up to do it. Buck was turned towards the television screen. Eddie couldn’t even tell you what they were watching.

What was he doing? This was stupid. Buck was going to say no and it was going to ruin their friendship.

“Earth to Eddie. Are you ok man?"

“Yeah, everything is fine." Eddie’s leg was bouncing. He had a great deal of nervous energy flowing through him.

“If you’re sure..." Buck didn’t want to push. If Eddie didn’t want to talk about it, he’ll leave it alone. Eddie will talk to him when he was ready.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?"

“Uh... Isn’t that what we are doing right now?" Buck eyed his plate where he still had a slice of pizza sitting; he was a little puzzled. They were having their usual movie night with pizza and beer. Like they always do. Isn’t that what Eddie had meant?

“No um. Like a date."

Buck had not been expecting this to happen when they made these plans tonight. He thought he would never get to have this. 

“Yeah, ok. If you are ready for that. I don’t want to push you. I mean you and Shannon have only just divorced. I don’t want this to be too much for you."

“It’s been a year Buck. It’s not only just. It’s been a long time coming. You should have seen me when I was trying to tell Shannon about my idea to ask you out. I was a panicking mess."

“You were not a panicking mess."

“I was. I had tried to tell her what I wanted to do, and I ended up confusing her with my rambling."

“You had no reason to worry. I was always going to say yes. Even though I had no idea you felt the same way."

“By the way. Apparently, everyone has been waiting for this to happen. Seems we are just slow on the uptake."

Buck let out a snort of laughter which in turn set Eddie off.

Eddie had felt a connection to Buck from the very beginning. He just hadn't realized at the time what he had been feeling. 

Shannon was right. They should have gotten divorced a long time ago. He took a few days to realize that the divorce needed to happen. She wasn’t just asking for the divorce to hurt him or to leave him and Christopher again. They both needed to move on. They would still be in each other’s lives just not together.

“So, this is really happening?"

Buck had finally calmed himself down. Buck was watching him with soft eyes. Like he couldn’t believe that this was really happening.

“Oh, absolutely." Eddie gently brought his hands to Buck’s face and gently pressed their lips together for the first time.

He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t this. He hadn’t been expecting this moment to go as well as it did. This made him feel warm, safe and loved.

Eddie pulled away to breathe. Eddie opened his eyes and watched Buck sitting across from him. Buck was panting softly, lips red and swollen.

“Wow." Buck breathed out in wonder.

_

Buck and Eddie were out on their first proper date.

Buck told Eddie that he had to surprise him. Since Eddie was the one to ask Buck on a date, Eddie had to be the one to plan their first one.

Christopher was going to the movies tonight with Shannon and her new boyfriend Matthew. Christopher hadn’t met him before. He was a little wary, but he knew his Mom wouldn’t introduce anyone into their lives that she was unsure about. She had to think of how her son would handle everything.

Eddie had just picked up Buck and they were headed out.

“Where are we going exactly?" Buck’s eyes were watching Eddie, they moved back out the window to try and guess where they were going.

“You told me to surprise you. That’s what I’m doing."

Eddie grinned at Buck keeping his eyes on the road. Buck was sitting next to him grumbling. From the corner of his eye, he could see a smile tugging at the corner of Buck’s lips.

Eddie drove for almost an hour; they were basically in the middle of nowhere.

Eddie parked and jumped out of the truck. He lifted the cover off the truck bed and started arranging everything they needed for the evening.

“What are we even doing out here?" Buck had followed him out of the truck.

“I’m here to kill you. No one will ever find your body."

Buck pulled a face at him and rolled his eyes.

“Ha. Ha, you are bloody hilarious. Seriously though. What are we doing out here?"

“We are going to stargaze and have a picnic. It is a bit cheesy, but I thought it would be fun."

Buck grinned, he hadn’t been expecting this. It was a little cheesy. Eddie had laid out blankets and pillows in the truck bed and there was even a wicker picnic basket waiting for them.

They spent the next few hours eating what food Eddie had prepared and pointing out constellations, or just making up their own ones. Turns out neither of them knew many constellations. Buck hadn’t been given the chance to Google any.

“That looks like a fire truck." Eddie pointed to a random grouping of stars. They looked nothing like a fire truck.

“No, they don’t. It looks more like a pot plant."

“There’s a duck."

Buck started laughing, this was a bit ridiculous. He was having fun though. This was one of the best first dates he had been on. His last couple of first dates didn’t really go that well. His first date with Ali didn’t go that well but they gave it another chance. Their relationship didn’t last further than his accident; she didn’t like that he was injured on the job. She left him because the thought of him being injured again was too hard for her to handle. They were too different in many ways. She only liked him when it suited her, she only liked his job when his life wasn’t in danger.

Sure, she liked that he was a firefighter, but only when he wasn’t risking his life. That was his entire job description. He ran into burning buildings for a living. They even met in a collapsing high rise. If that was going to be her attitude towards their relationship they would have never worked out.

His first date with Abby ended with him getting an emergency tracheotomy. It was definitely memorable in that sense. He doesn’t think he’ll ever know if it would have worked out with Abby. If she had never left maybe they would have found out for real. 

“Thank you for this." Buck leaned over and brushed his lips against Eddie’s and leaned into him. 


	4. The Buckley's Arrive

_June 2020_

Buck was waiting at LAX for his parents to arrive. He was nervous about this trip. He had forgiven his Mom years ago for taking her time at accepting his sexuality, but it still hurt sometimes knowing that it still happened. 

He had just gotten off a long shift. He didn’t really want to be waiting at the airport after the shift he just had. It had been a hard one, they had a few fatalities today, which always brought everyone down the rest of the day. Eddie had to go relieve Carla as it was Eddie’s week with Christopher. They would be waiting for Buck to get home with his parents.

Christopher was excited to finally see them again. He last saw them for a short time when they had come to see Buck while he was recovering from his crush injury. Buck had been watching Chris one of the days his parents were over from Pennsylvania and Christopher finally had the chance to meet them. 

It seems like Christopher had already claimed Buck’s parents as additional grandparents. He already had Helena and Ramon and Shannon’s Dad. Her Mom had passed away when Christopher was five.

Shannon had left Eddie and Christopher to go take care of her and never went back to Texas. She decided it was time to stick around and was much happier with her life now.

The airport was bustling with people. LAX was insane at this time. His parent's plane was supposed to be landing within the next half hour.

He’d probably end up having to wait another hour before he even found his parents. There was also trying to get home in LA traffic.

His phone started ringing; he could barely hear it over the murmuring of strangers around him.

Eddie was calling him; he was probably wondering where he was.

“Hey, babe. It’s still probably going to be another hour. Their plane isn’t supposed to land for another thirty minutes."

“ _I was just calling to ask should I start dinner. I can tide Christopher over with a small snack until you guys get back here."_

He and Eddie would now switch off the days they’d cook. Buck was finally getting better at cooking thanks to Bobby’s lessons.

“Maybe, if you want to. We probably won’t be back for another hour, maybe two."

Getting through an airport early evening was a bit crazy, especially at LAX. There were just constant streams of people coming and going.

_“That’s a good point. I’ll start once you are on your way home."_

“I’ll see you a bit later. I’ll text you when we are on our way home."

They hung up and Buck just watched people walk passed, seems like everyone was in a rush today. Like always.

Airports could actually be really boring when you were by yourself. Buck had literally nothing to do except scroll mindlessly through his phone.

Buck had zoned out completely. He was Googling random facts. Buck liked learning new things. It always seemed that his team always underestimated his intelligence. They didn’t know that he was one of the top academics at school. Or that he had actually received scholarship offers to a few colleges. He’d pull that information out one day.

Buck’s phone was ringing in his hand. It was his Dad their plane must have just landed.

“Hey, Dad."

Buck got up and started pacing. He had to weave around people who apparently didn’t want to slow down, so they nearly ran into him.

“Where are you? We just made it out of baggage claim."

“I’m waiting in the food court. I don't know why I decided to wait here when I am hungry." Buck muttered. He was getting hungry. There were so many options in the food court. Maybe he shouldn’t be waiting in the food court where there were too many temptations.

“We’ll see you in a minute." His Dad hung up without saying goodbye. Well, at least he’d be seeing them in a minute anyway and they could finally leave the airport and head home to have dinner.

Buck quickly fired off a text to Eddie to let him know they’d be on their way soon. His parents were just coming to meet him now.

Buck was so focussed on scanning the crowd that he hadn’t noticed his parents walk up to him until his Mom had wrapped herself around him.

“Hi, baby." Buck jumped. His Mom always seemed to do that.

Buck grinned. He had missed his family. It was always good to see them.

“Hi, Mom." He hugged her back tightly and lifted her into the air.

Evelyn Buckley was a foot shorter than her son. They had the same blue eyes and the same blond curly hair. Well, when Buck’s hair was a bit longer that is. Evelyn’s hair just had streaks of gray throughout.

Elijah Buckley was a couple of inches shorter than Evan. He had dark brown hair that was peppered with gray. He the same brown eyes as Maddie. Evan and Elijah shared the same smile. Most of their facial features were the same. Except Buck had his Mom’s nose and lips. He had his Mom’s lips, but his Dad’s smile.

Evan stepped into his Dad’s arms and hugged him tightly. It was always good to see them, his Dad had always been supportive of him and the decisions he made his Mom had just taken a while to figure out he was not a different person now that he liked men as well as women. They hadn't been supportive of the lawsuit. Even Evan knew that was stupid.

His parents had been married for 45 years. Buck knew that they didn’t always see eye to eye. They struggled to have him and Maddie. It had taken them seven years to get Maddie. Evelyn had many miscarriages over the years until she had conceived Maddie and managed to carry her to full term.

Maddie was born to Evelyn and Elijah when Evelyn was 27 and Elijah was 28.

Once Maddie was a couple of years old, they tried to have another baby as they wanted Maddie to have a sibling.

Over the next few years, Evelyn had gotten pregnant a few times, but not all of them had stuck.

Evelyn had lost their little girl Mia Grace at 28 weeks. 

After that Elijah and Evelyn had separated for a short time. It had been hard on them. They didn’t know how to handle it. Maddie would have barely remembered that time in her life if she remembered it at all. 

They went to couples therapy for a bit to work through it. Eight months after they separated, they wanted to try again. It had taken a lot out of them to get to this point. They would try one more time. If Evelyn got pregnant again, and it didn’t work this time. They would know that Maddie would be their only child and they would have to accept it.

Evelyn had miraculously gotten pregnant once again at 35. Evelyn and Elijah were waiting for heartbreak throughout her pregnancy. Once Evelyn had passed 28 weeks, they started to get hopeful.

Evan James Buckley was born on the 27th of June. He was born just over four weeks early at 36 weeks. He spent a week in the NICU making sure that there were no long-term issues. They kept a watchful eye on him for the first 24 hours to make sure he didn’t develop RDS.

Evan was a fighter. The Buckley’s were a family of fighters.

The Buckleys started to walk out of the airport and towards the short-term parking where Buck had parked his Jeep.

“Where are Eddie and Christopher?" Elijah questioned curiously. 

“At home. Waiting for us to get there. Christopher is excited to finally see you guys again."

“He is such a sweet boy. He is so well adjusted after everything that has happened."

It took Buck a few minutes to actually remember where he had parked his Jeep. He got his parents to wait by the curb and he’d pulled his Jeep up once he had found it.

His Dad piled their bags into the bag of Buck’s Jeep and his Dad piled into the front passenger seat while his Mom sat in the back. Luckily, his Jeep wasn’t messy. He’d usually forget to clean out what junk he accumulated in it. He really should just stop throwing rubbish around. It got quite messy most of the time. He really should keep it clean for when he had Christopher in the Jeep with him.

Buck drove them all back to the house he shared with Eddie and Christopher. It was a large one-storey home that they had made more accessible for Christopher. There was a wraparound porch with a ramp leading up. There were also a few steps. More often than not Buck and Eddie would use the ramp. Stairs were a bit awkward to maneuver when you were just coming off a 24-hour shift.

The exterior was tan brick with white siding. There was a dark gray roof. They hadn’t been living there all that long, they had just brought the house together. It was a four-bedroom house. There was one guest room and for now one was storage. Later down the track, it may be used for a new addition. Buck hadn’t talked to Eddie about that yet. They weren’t even engaged yet. That was next on Buck’s agenda. He just had to get Eddie and ring. Then get the nerve to propose.

The front door opened as they pulled up, and Christopher made his way quickly down the ramp to greet them. His Mom basically bolted out the car to greet Christopher. She pulled him into her arms and held onto him tightly.

Buck swears his Mom was more excited to see Christopher than she was to see Buck and Maddie. Maddie and Chimney were supposed to be stopping by after dinner to see Evelyn and Elijah.

There was going to be a large family dinner tomorrow with the 118 and their families. The following day there was going to be one with Eddie’s family. Eddie’s family had wanted to meet his parents, also Shannon and Matthew had also been invited to both family dinners.

Eddie came out to greet his parents. He hadn’t had a tonne of interaction with them the last time they were in Los Angeles since Eddie had been picking up extra shifts.

“Evelyn, Elijah. It is so good to see you both again," Eddie first hugged Evelyn and brushed a kiss to her cheek in greeting.

“Don’t worry Elijah I won’t kiss you." Eddie joked bringing his Dad into a hug.

“What if I wanted one Eddie?" His Dad quipped, fluttering his eyelashes that Buck usually did all while grinning. Eddie smacked a loud kiss to Elijah’s cheek.

“Is that better?" Eddie laughed. He helped Buck get Evelyn and Elijah’s luggage out of Buck’s Jeep. They made their way inside and Eddie took the luggage into the guest room.

Eddie entered the kitchen and started to dish up dinner. Christopher had been grumbling before that he was hungry. He wanted to wait for his adoptive grandparents, but also wanted to eat.

They sat down together at the dining room table and ate the dinner Eddie had prepared.

Christopher was talking to them about his day at school.

“Grandpa Eli, can you help me with my science project?" Christopher questioned. He would have asked his Dad, but he knew that Buck’s Dad was a doctor and was good at science, he had studied for longer than he had been alive to become a doctor.

Elijah opened his mouth to answer.

“Mijo, Eli just got here. Maybe he can help you tomorrow before going to Bobby and Athena’s for dinner."

“That sounds like a good idea. We’ll sit down together tomorrow after school and do it."

Christopher agreed wholeheartedly. He was excited to be spending time with his Grandpa Eli. Grandma Evie had already promised him that they would do some baking together.

Buck and Eddie needed to make a grocery run for that to happen.

Maddie and Chimney arrived just after they had finished dinner.

“Maddie! My sweet girl." Evelyn took her daughter into her arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

She continued onto Chimney who had just greeted Elijah. Maddie went over to greet her Dad. Eddie and Buck were standing watching everyone greet each other.

Maddie came over to talk to Buck and Eddie. “How’s it going you two?"

“You know. Same old, same old. Got off shift and spent time in traffic only to have to wait at the airport to pick up Mom and Dad. We also got stuck in traffic on the way home." Buck grumbled to his sister.

“Anyway... Eddie, how are you?" She hugged her hopefully soon to be brother in law. They were all hoping for it to happen eventually.

“Glad I have tomorrow off." Eddie sat down on the small couch. Buck squeezed up close to him and rested his head on Eddie’s shoulder.

Christopher was sitting with Elijah on the single recliner and Elijah was reading him the book that Buck and Eddie had taken turns reading to him each night.

Maddie and Chimney were on the larger couch with Evelyn talking about what Evelyn and Elijah’s plans were when Elijah retired at the end of the year.

“Your Dad has always wanted to travel and work with Doctor’s Without Borders. I’ll go with him and volunteer at the schools in the area."

“That’s right. He’s mentioned that before. I just didn’t think those plans were for retirement."

“We leave early February next year and go for six months. If you have any major life events, schedule them before that date, please." Elijah quipped. He turned the page and got Christopher to start off the reading.

“Real subtle there Dad." Buck muttered sleepily. 


	5. Buck Talks About His Recovery

_Flashback_

Buck had been nervous all day. Eddie was coming over. They were about to open up about everything they had been through with Buck's Crush Injury, the embolism, the tsunami and the street fighting. It had been a long time of holding everything back. They had only been dating for just over a month. They needed to get everything out. They were still holding somethings back from each other. There were too many unanswered questions that might cause tension in the future.

No more secrets.

Eddie knocked on Buck’s front door. That was weird. Usually, Eddie would just use his key.

“You know you have a key right?" Buck pulled open the door. Eddie stood there looking nervous.

“Hi." Buck breathed and pressed a gentle kiss to Eddie’s lips.

Buck led Eddie into the lounge. They ended up sitting on separate ends of the couch. It felt like there was so much space between them. Once everything was out in the open, they could close the gap and move on together.

“How do we start this?" Eddie was fidgeting with his fingers, like he didn’t know what to do with them.

“How about I start. That way you can lead off from what I say." Buck took a deep breath and began his tale.

“Ok." Eddie answered softly. He sat back ready to listen.

“I’ll start the day of the accident. I remember hearing Bobby try to contact us to warn us. Then the truck exploded. I don’t remember much after that. I just remember being scared, numb and all alone. I know protocol stated you needed to get rid of the threat first before you could intervene. But I was terrified. I couldn’t see anyone. I had so much blood in my eyes that my vision was obscured. I didn’t know if anyone was ever going to come for me. I thought I would end up dying alone under the truck. I was trying not to panic. All my senses were heightened. I could feel the truck crushing my leg. I could barely move. I couldn’t even raise my head that much. When you all could finally intervene, I was relieved. I had a mix of tears and blood running down my face. I was grateful that you had come to save me. Well, up until you tried lifting the ladder truck. Having the weight of the ladder truck being taken off my leg and having the pressure put back on was agonizing. I was ready to beg for one of you to kill me to put me out of my misery. I know that is hard to hear, but that was how I felt at that moment,"

Eddie was watching him sadly. It had been hard for him watching Buck under the truck and not being able to do anything to help. Eddie reached out a hand and grasped one of Buck’s and squeezed tightly. Buck composed himself to continue.

“I think I blacked out after you all had put me on a gurney. I don’t remember much of the trip to the hospital. I vaguely remember the feeling of you holding my hand the entire way to the hospital. That kept me grounded. No matter how much I wanted to give up. Once I had woken up after surgery. I was terrified. I didn’t know what had happened with my leg. To begin with I hadn't noticed it being encased in a chunky cast. My first thought before I saw the cast was that my leg was gone. The cast was tight around my leg that I didn’t quite comprehend that my leg was actually still attached to my body."

Buck now hated hospitals. He had been in the hospital way too often. He wanted to avoid them as much as possible now. There were too many bad memories of hospitals. It was the start of his loneliness. He hoped that his thoughts were coming out how he wanted them to. Everything in his mind just seemed jumbled as he tried to race through everything. He wanted to get all his thoughts and feelings out, but it didn’t seem like they were coming out how he wanted them to.

“I hated that cast. It was holding me back from doing what I loved. I wanted to get back to the job as quickly as possible. Turns out my eagerness is what set me back. The additional surgeries ended up causing the blood clots. The physical therapy was torture. As you know there were many tears, anger, cursing, pain, frustration. I could go on, but you get the gist. Bobby was there on days you weren’t. It was a struggle to get my strength back up. Mentally it was hard taking care of myself. I will admit there were days I barely got out of bed. Those days I didn’t eat. I was sinking. That was a dark time for me. I was grateful to all of you for the support, but I still felt so alone."

The tears had broken free and had spilled down Eddie’s face.

“After Ali and I had broken up I was a bit lost for a bit. I had to comprehend her reasoning for leaving me. She couldn’t deal with me wanting to get back to work. She wanted me to find any other job that wouldn’t put my life at risk every day. She didn’t get my passion for my job. Why was she allowed to be passionate about her job, but I couldn’t be passionate about mine? According to her, it wasn’t fair to put that kind of expectation on her to wait around at home wondering if I was going to come home. How was that fair? That my job was too hard on her. She didn’t take into account how I felt about everything. She just up and left without another word."

Buck was getting a little angry. He still couldn’t understand Ali’s motives. Just because she didn’t like that Buck was putting his life at risk, doesn’t mean that she could belittle his job. He couldn’t just drop it. She didn’t understand what the job meant to Buck.

“I’m sorry she made you feel like your job wasn’t worth it."

Eddie had just put into words how Buck felt about how things ended with Ali.

Just because he nearly died on the job doesn’t mean that the job wasn’t worth it. He’d do it all again if he had to. Everything except the lawsuit of course. He’d also reach out for more support. He needed something to help anchor him.

“Once I had finally recovered, I was ecstatic. I could finally be reinstated. I could finally feel the adrenaline pumping while racing through the recertification course. I was finally home. It was a good feeling. Which didn’t end up lasting that long. Coughing up the blood was a terrifying feeling. I hated the feeling of being suffocated by my own blood. I know it was probably scary for all of you, but it was happening to me. I had another setback. Maybe the world was trying to tell me that I shouldn’t be alive. I had all these signs thrown at me. I didn’t know what to think anymore."

The famous Buckley Luck.

“Then the tsunami happened. It is something I don’t like to think about or talk about, but I know I have to. I lost Christopher. I was meant to protect him. I failed him. I was terrified I was going to lose him, and it actually happened. Trying to tell you what had happened made me feel sick. No, even worse than that. I just felt empty. There was just a missing place in my heart that was just gone. No matter how hard I tried to find him to get him back, I had failed. I think I passed out when Christopher had finally been brought back to us. After everything that day I was just drained. Physically and emotionally."

It was Buck’s turn to start crying. It was hard to breathe. Everything had just become too much. All the emotion just expelled itself from Buck’s body. He let out a wail and Eddie brought Buck into his arms and held him while they both cried. They needed this. They weren’t even finished with everything yet. They still had the lawsuit to get through on Buck’s end. They still had to get through Eddie’s explanation about the street fighting.

It took them a long time to finally calm down.

“Alright. Time to continue. There’s going to be more tears."

Eddie gave Buck one final squeeze and let him go. He still had a hold of one of Buck’s hands. He was ready to hear the rest of it.

“I knew it was a bad idea the moment I filed the lawsuit. But I was heartbroken. I was being left behind by my family. I didn’t know what to do with myself. No one was visiting me anymore. Maybe if I was lucky, I’d get to see you for an hour a week. That was hard for me. You didn’t understand that I want and need my family around me. I didn’t have anyone to come home to. I would come home to an empty, dark, lonely apartment. You all had families to come home to. All I had was me. Bosko ended up replacing me. That was like a punch to the chest when I saw her name taped over mine. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was being replaced and there was the proof right in front of me. How did you think that would make me feel? There were other lockers available, but you gave my locker away. You all kept telling me ‘No Buck you aren’t being replaced. There’s always a place for you here.’ You all made me believe that. Then you all went and did that. You all replaced me. Bobby had been forced by yours truly into telling me that I’m not ready to come back, even though the decision was never up to him. You all never spoke up about it. What was I to think? You all had just abandoned me like I was nothing to you anymore. You all had moved on while I was left behind. All alone. I went to Chase Mackey and filed the lawsuit. I never wanted to do it, but you all gave me no other choice."

Buck was working himself up. He was talking quickly trying to get everything out in the open. Coherently. He was probably all over the places.

It was like Eddie’s heart had been torn out from his chest. Buck was right. They had never done anything to help him. They all just thought he was doing ok by himself. They never even tried to ask him otherwise. They all just seemed to forget about him and went on with their lives. They had never stood up to Bobby when he kept holding Buck back.

They had let Bosko tape her name over Buck’s. They just told themselves, it wasn’t permanent. They weren’t replacing him. But they were. Eddie understood how the lawsuit was the only way to get through to them. They needed the shock to realize what they had done to a member of their family. They had left him behind. Eddie was wrong. Buck wasn’t only thinking of himself. He never was. He only ever wanted to get back to them after they left him behind. Why would he ever want to come back to them after what they had done?

The lawsuit was necessary. They wouldn’t have heard Buck out otherwise. They all needed a swift kick up the ass.

“The aberration was a horrible time. I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t know that he was going to use that information against you all. I understand you were all angry with me, but you never saw my side. You all thought I was doing fine on my own. Did you ever think to just ask me how I was doing? I had sunk into a depression because I was so alone. I didn’t even have my sister for support because she was dating Chimney. I thought it would be a conflict of interest which meant we didn’t get to talk to each other. The grocery store hurt. I just wanted a chance to explain myself, but none of you would let me. You just thought I was doing this all for myself. If I was just doing this all for myself, I would have just taken the seven million dollars and you would never have to see me again. But I couldn’t do it. No amount of money would ever replace you all."

It was hard to hear. Everything Buck was saying was the truth. They had never checked in to ask if he was doing ok. They just assumed he was fine. Eddie admitted he shouldn’t have gotten as angry as he did at Buck. It was never Buck’s fault alone. They were all to blame to some extent.

“Seven million?" Eddie choked out. Holy shit. That was a lot of money. Buck could be doing anything he wanted right now. Instead, what he got was anger thrown at him at every turn. They never even tried to understand what Buck was going through.

“I never wanted the money. I just wanted you all back and my job. I don’t know why you could never see that,"

“That's my side done. I guess now it’s your turn now."

Buck was wiping away his tears. He was ready to hear what Eddie had to say. Buck gently wiped away Eddie’s tears while he prepared himself to open up about the street fighting.

Buck was right. He now needed to talk.

“As you know, I was angry with Shannon for coming back and then trying to leave us again. She got me to take down my walls again, only to decide I wasn’t enough for her anymore. Even though in the end the divorce was a mutual decision. Even though I didn’t love her the same way anymore. It still felt like she was just leaving us again. I was hurt after the divorce. I couldn’t help that. My marriage had failed. It took me a year to get myself to a good place to decide that I was going to ask you on a date. But that isn’t the point. To start with Shannon, wanting to leave again, wanting the divorce, your accident, the tsunami where I nearly lost you and Christopher, the Embolism, the lawsuit. Everything had just built up and I was just so angry all the time that I had no outlet for my anger. When Bosko brought me to street fighting, just watching it was a rush, participating was a high I didn’t want to try to get anywhere else. It was like the drug I never knew I needed. It got worse before it got better, I went from street fighting to highly illegal cage fighting ‘Tap out or knockout’. It turned into an obsession and it wasn’t healthy. Not that I was going to stop anytime soon."

Buck was listening calmly. He was mad that Eddie had to resort to fighting for his anger management. Fighting never solved anything.

“I nearly killed someone street fighting. I sent a piece of his nose into his cranial cavity. No one would call 911. He was going to start leaking spinal fluid if he didn’t get help quickly. I was the one to clear the guy’s airway. Sat him upright and called 911. I didn’t want to leave the area until the man was safe. I stayed hidden and was caught by Bosko. Bobby and I had a long talk about everything. He made me go to Frank. I don’t cage fight anymore, but sometimes I still get so angry."

“We’re just going to have to find you another outlet." Buck grabbed both of Eddie’s hand and squeezed.

“I love you." Eddie was trying to calm himself down. He had a few tears running down his cheeks. He knew it was going to be an emotional conversation, but he hadn’t realized how much. 

“The first time you tell me you love me is while we are crying together?"

Eddie laughed wetly. It had just come out.

“I love you, too. By the way. We’ll get through this. We’ll figure it out."

They’d figure it out, together.


	6. 118 Family Dinner

_June 2020_

Tonight, was the big family dinner with the 118 and their families.

They were each supposed to pitch in a dish of some sort, Buck and Eddie drew the dessert straw.

There was some discussion on what they actually wanted to make. Eddie had suggested that they make Tres Leches Cake. Isobel would always make the cake for family events. She had passed on the recipe to Eddie as Christopher had always enjoyed it and no one could say no to the kid. No one could make the cake as well as Abuela did, but they tried.

They had made the cake the night before to let the cake soak up the milk mixture. It was tempting not to eat any of it before heading over to Bobby and Athena’s.

Buck always had a massive sweet tooth; Eddie was just as bad as him. They had a stash of sweet treats hidden around the house. Christopher had yet to find some of their hiding places. Sometimes even Buck couldn't remember where some of their hiding places were. 

Buck was digging out the cooler out of the closet when his Dad came up behind him.

“What are you looking for Evan?" Buck jumped and smacked his head against one of the shelves.

“Ow! Fuck." Buck whimpered, rubbing his hand against the sore spot where he hit his head.

“Sorry." Elijah looked sheepish. He grabbed Buck’s head and pulled it down to see what the damage was. He ran his fingers gently over a slight bump on his son’s head.

Elijah dug through his pockets looking for his penlight that he would always carry around with him.

“Pupils are reacting normally," Elijah muttered to himself.

“Dad. I’m fine. I was mostly just startled." Buck turned back to look for the cooler. He found it right at the back of the closet. He carefully pulled it out without dragging everything else out along with it.

“Well, you don’t have a concussion..." Buck shook his head and they walked back into the kitchen. Buck pulled icepacks out of the freezer to place in the bottom of the cooler ready to transport the cake to Bobby and Athena’s.

“What was that thump we heard?" Evelyn eyed the pair curiously as they walked into the room.

“Dad decided he would be oh so kind to me and scare me which made me hit my head."

Eddie was getting together the last-minute things they needed before they headed out. Christopher was getting ready to leave; he was in his room putting his shoes on.

“Oh, my poor baby." Evelyn walked over to Buck and cupped his face in her hands brought his head down so she could kiss the bump on his head.

Buck laughed, gently pushed his Mom away and made his way to the front door to start loading the car.

_

Buck pulled up to Athena and Bobby’s home. Everyone began to pile out of the Jeep. Buck walked to the back of the Jeep and pulled the cooler out. He quickly checked to make sure that the cake was still intact. Luckily, it was.

They all walked up the driveway towards the front door. Eddie rang the doorbell and they waited for someone to come and answer the door.

Elijah was holding onto Christopher, it turns out Chris had roped him into it. He could wrap anyone around his finger.

The door was pulled open and Hen was standing there waiting for them to come in. 

“Hey Hen." Buck gave her a quick hug and made his way into the house and down the stairs. He made his way to the kitchen to put the cake into the fridge.

“Hey, Athena." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and started opening the cooler to pull the cake out.

“That looks pretty good. What is it?" Athena peered over his shoulder curiously.

“Tres Leches Cake." Buck murmured, gently pulling the cake out of the cooler. Athena opened the fridge and made room for the cake to be laid flat.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Bobby introducing himself to his parents. His Mom had attached herself to Bobby and started asking him questions about how Buck took care of himself while on shift.

Buck groaned and started helping Athena continue with making dinner since Bobby was now distracted.

“I knew this would happen-" Buck grumbled. Athena got him stirring her dish.

“Don’t season it anymore." She warned, pointing a wooden spoon at him.

Buck laughed. “Thena, that was one time."

“One time too many if you ask me." 

_

Shannon and Matthew arrived next. They didn’t know everyone as well. After they greeted Christopher they went and stood with Eddie, who was chatting to Elijah.

“Shannon, Matthew. Glad you two could make it."

Bobby had come up behind them. He didn’t really know Shannon that well, he had only met her briefly a couple of times when she stopped by the station.

Matthew, he hadn’t met before.

“Matthew. Hi. I’m Bobby. I don’t know what dumbass one and two told you about me..."

“Bobby, who are you calling a dumbass?" Eddie whined.

“Who do you think?"

“Hen and Chim?" Eddie looked up at Bobby, hopefully.

“I have a different set of nicknames for them."

“Athena! Your husband is calling me and Buck dumbasses." Eddie trailed off to the kitchen to find Athena.

“The names could be worse." He could hear Athena mutter from the kitchen at the two idiots. He could also hear Evelyn’s laughter over the boys moping.

“Is it always like this?" Elijah glanced over at Bobby curiously.

Shannon was watching Eddie and Buck complain to Athena. She was silently laughing, shaking her head at her ex-husband and his boyfriend.

“This is nothing."

_

Maddie and Chimney arrived when Eddie was whining to Athena and in turn Evelyn.

“What did we miss?"

“Bobby called Eddie and me dumbasses." Buck clued her in. He was bringing food onto the dining room table.

“And that is news why?" Maddie walked over to greet her Mom standing in the kitchen.

“Hi, Mom. Welcome to the madhouse."

“Hi, baby. I can see why you call it that. Do they always get like this?"

“Every time." Chimney walked over to greet Evelyn.

“Chimney. How is it you put up with everyone exactly?" She hugged him gently and patted his cheek.

“We all put up with each other. We are just as bad as each other some days."

“Dinner’s up!" Athena called through the house.

_

“Ok, a question for the kids. How do you all think your parents met?"

“What kids are we talking here?" Buck spoke up curiously after swallowing his bite of food.

“Buckaroo you count as a kid." Athena teased.

“I already know how my parents met. They’ve told Maddie and me the story a lot."

“They met when Mom was fifteen almost sixteen and Dad was sixteen. My Mom accidentally burnt Dad with the Bunsen burner in their science class which they shared. It was a pretty bad burn. Mom ended up taking Dad to the nurse to get the burn checked over. It was so bad that they sent him to the emergency room in an ambulance. They spent the entire ambulance ride yelling at each other. They became inseparable after that. They were best friends who decided to start dating a year-ish later… Married at twenty. Had me at twenty-seven and Dad was twenty-eight. Had Buck at thirty-five."

Maddie was not going to talk about everything that came in between. It wasn’t something that needed to be talked about.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. I still have the scar.” Elijah nodded in agreement. Showing off the long thin burn scar that went up his right forearm from the flame of the Bunsen burner.

“Turns out that was the day I decided I wanted to become a doctor. Your Mom had to take notes for me in that class until the burn healed."

“Dad. We know the story. Basically, off by heart by now after how many times you’ve told it to us. And showing off your scar to anyone who asks about it."

Buck laughed, he continued eating the rest of his dinner while the others talked around him.

Buck was talking to Matthew about tattoos. Buck was wanting to get another one at some point he just hadn’t decided what he wanted to get. 

“Do the 118 kids know how Bobby and I met?" Athena’s voice broke through the chatter. Everyone else stopped talking to listen. Not everyone had heard the story.

“Hen and I do. We only just missed the actual meeting by a minute. Why did we need to take that guy to the hospital again?" Chimney murmured, with a laugh building. 

"Because it's your job." Bobby looked over at Chimney. 

“I don’t think I’ve heard this story."

Buck leaned back in his chair. This definitely must have been before he arrived at the 118. They liked to tell stories of past calls; they must have just not gotten around to telling this one yet.

“We were called out to a stabbing. When we get there, the assailant is actually a rooster with a blade attached to his leg. It was hilarious watching Tommy and DeLuca and the rest of the team try to catch the rooster. They were more trying to keep away from it rather than try to catch it. Hen and Chimney left to take away the victim. The adventure ended with me placing the disarmed rooster in Athena’s arms. The rest of us bailed on her to deal with the aftermath."

“You still owe me for that one." Athena grumbled.

“Right..." Elijah looked unsure. He didn't know whether to laugh or not. Just the image of that scene seemed a bit ridiculous. Being there no wonder Bobby was laughing at the rest of the team.

Buck vaguely remembered someone talking about a rooster once. He hadn’t fully been paying attention though.

_

They had just finished having dessert. If they could have left the cake to sit for another night it would have been even better, but it was still delicious as always.

Buck lay on the floor, groaning. He was full. He shouldn’t have had that extra slice of cake.

“Have you learned your lesson yet?" Evelyn stood over him watching her son lay on the floor clutching his stomach.

“Never…”

_

They were all just winding down for the evening. Buck had finally dragged himself off the floor. With Shannon’s help.

Christopher was nodding off in Elijah’s arms. Harry had already gone up to bed, Denny, Hen, and Karen had already left as Denny was about to fall asleep. They didn’t want to have to wake him to get to the car, they left before that all had to happen.

Shannon and Matthew had politely excused themselves after saying good night to Christopher and then everyone else. They thanked Athena and Bobby for hosting the dinner and thanked them for inviting them along.

All that was left to leave was Maddie and Chimney. Buck, Eddie, and Christopher were just waiting for Evelyn and Elijah to finish up their conversation with Bobby and Athena.

“Do you think they’ll be talking all night?" Maddie whispered to Buck. Buck had his head tilted to the side and was watching his parents talk to Bobby and Athena. Christopher was still in Elijah’s arms, but he had fallen asleep listening to them talk.

“Well, Christopher decided to skip the conversation and just go to sleep." Buck quipped.

“You know we can hear you two." Bobby spoke from the other side of the room.

“I think you were supposed to." Eddie laughed.

“We better get this one to bed. I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did." Elijah gently stroked Christopher’s hair and was gently swaying back and forth.

“Dad thinks he’s holding a baby." Maddie snorted at her Dad’s movements.

“Technically he is. Christopher is my baby." Eddie piped up from where he was standing next to Chimney.

“Eddie does have a point there." Buck pointed out to Maddie who nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s true. Didn’t think of it that way."

“Before the children bicker themselves to death. We’ll be heading off. Thank you for the lovely even. I’m sorry you have to put up with these idiots all the time."

Evelyn gave Athena a hug first afterward moved to onto greeting Bobby. She gently patted his face, then started walking to the door.

“Athena. It was lovely to meet you. Thank you for having us. Like my wife said. Thank you for dealing with our children on a daily basis."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and gave her a one-armed hug being mindful of Christopher in his arms. 

“Sweet. I’m not part of this." Eddie cackled.

“Oh yes, you are. You count as one of our kids since you started dating Evan. Same goes with you Chimney. You’re dating Maddie so you count as one of our children now."

“How did we end up with five kids?"

“Five?" Athena asked hesitantly. She knew there was a story there, but she didn’t know if she had the right to ask. They didn’t need to answer if they didn’t want to.

“Mia Grace. She was our stillborn between Maddie and Evan. She was born early at 28 weeks. She is still our child she just isn’t here with us. But we always try to remember her even though Evan doesn’t remember anything as he wasn’t born yet. But we always try to get together on her birthday and have a small celebration to remember her."

Athena felt awful. That wasn’t what she was expecting.

“I’m so sorry I brought it up. I didn’t mean to bring up any unpleasant memories."

“They aren’t unpleasant. It is always hard knowing she never got to live, but we will always remember her."

They finished saying their goodnights and they headed out to their respective vehicles.

Evelyn was right. They weren’t unpleasant memories. He may not have been around when Mia Grace was born, but he still celebrates her with his family every year.

He had learned a lot over the years about family. Some you were born with, others you get to choose on your own. He was grateful for what family he had. He would always treasure his, no matter how far away they were or how close they were.

They were his. 


	7. Double Date: Meeting Matthew

_July 2019_

_Flashback_

“Are you nervous about meeting Shannon’s new partner?" Buck was buttoning up his shirt. They were supposed to be meeting Shannon and her new boyfriend at a small restaurant.

They were headed out for a double date. They were just about to leave the firehouse to start heading to the restaurant. Who knows what traffic and parking was going to be like. 

“I guess. I just want her to be happy. I finally get to be happy with you. She should get to be happy as well. Even if it is a little weird."

Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, and one to his forehead. Eddie pulled away to finish getting ready.

Christopher had already met Shannon’s boyfriend a couple of days ago.

Christopher had said he was a nice man, a little quiet. But he seemed to like Shannon.

“Christopher said he was nice. He can’t be that bad, can he?"

“Christopher also said he was quiet." Eddie laughed, putting on his shoes.

“You guys excited for your double date?" Hen stood in the doorway to the men’s locker room.

“Hen, men’s locker room."

“You are mostly dressed, Buckaroo. Anyway, you gonna answer my question?"

“We haven’t met Shannon’s boyfriend before. We at least have to pretend to like him a little, we can’t be outright rude to him." Eddie laughed jokingly. He grabbed his keys and phone out of his locker and placed them in his pants pockets.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny Eddie. Shannon is probably nervous about you both meeting him. She is introducing her ex-husband to a potential significant other."

“Well, said ex-husband is bringing his boyfriend along. So, I don’t think it will be that bad." Eddie made his way out of the locker room. He said good night to Bobby on his way out. He was also just leaving the station for the night. 

“I better catch up with him before he leaves without me," Buck laughed, walking out of the locker room after grabbing his duffle bag, phone and keys.

“Night Hen. Night Bobby."

Chimney, had already left the station ten minutes prior when Maddie came to pick him up for their date night.

Eddie was waiting for Buck by the truck. Eddie had picked Buck up on the way to work this morning, they wanted to ride to the restaurant together.

“You ready to do this?" Buck whispered, reaching for Eddie’s hand.

“I think so."

“That is all we can hope for." Buck laughed and got into the passenger seat of Eddie’s truck and buckled himself in.

_

They spent ten minutes trying to find a park. They ended up having to walk a couple of blocks back to the restaurant.

“At least it isn’t that far to walk," Eddie grumbled jokingly pulling Buck down the street hand in hand back towards the restaurant. Turns out on a Friday night, parking in Los Angeles was horrendous.

They walked towards the restaurant doors as they came into view. Buck opened the door for Eddie, and he stepped in after.

The tables were filled with couples. There were a few empty tables scattered about. The tables had been done up with floral and greenery centerpieces. There were also candles on either side of the centerpieces. The light in the dining room was dimmed, most of the light was from the flickering candles.

“What name is the table under?" Buck whispered.

They weren’t the ones to book the table, Shannon was. They didn’t know what name she used.

“She changed her last name after we divorced. She’ll be Shannon Parker now I think."

They stepped up to the podium to get directed to their table.

“Evening. The table should be under Parker, Shannon. Table for four." Eddie smiled politely at the hostess. He had his arm wrapped around Buck’s waist.

“Right this way. Your other guests have yet to arrive." The young woman guided them over to a table set up with four place settings. The table had the same setup as the other tables, there were just additional candles and an additional centerpiece.

Buck sat across from Eddie. They thought about sitting next to each other, yet decided they wanted to be able to see each other comfortably.

“Does this feel weird to you?" Eddie asked sheepishly, playing with his cutlery.

Buck snorted out a laugh.

“A little. Shannon and I are friends, I know you two were married. Before you, I wasn’t a saint. We all have pasts and Shannon is part of yours."

“Yes, Hen and Chimney have told me of your escapades."

“I swear those two have nothing better to talk about."

Buck glanced up when he heard footsteps heading towards them. Eddie followed his gaze and saw Shannon and a tall man headed their way.

Buck got out of his seat to greet Shannon. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and gave her a one-armed hug.

Buck stuck out his hand to Shannon’s boyfriend. “Hi. Evan Buckley. You can just call me Buck. It’s nice to meet you..."

Buck trailed off waiting for the man to introduce himself.

“Matthew Butler. It’s nice to meet you, Buck." Matthew shook Buck’s hand firmly. Matthew turned towards Eddie and held out a hand.

Eddie placed his hand in Matthew’s and shook it. “Eddie Diaz." Matthew went and sat down next to Eddie, while Shannon greeted Eddie and sat down next to Buck.

Matthew was Eddie’s height, maybe a little shorter. He had black hair and light green eyes. He seemed to like Shannon which was the main thing. Eddie loved Shannon; he may not be in love with her anymore, but cared about her and he wanted her to be taken care of.

“Matthew, what is it you do for work?"

Buck tried to get the conversation going with the usual small talk questions.

“I’m a mechanic. I own my own company where we look mostly after older cars. Like vintage cars. That is our specialty. We also cater to newer models, but our passion is Vintage cars."

“How did you get into doing that? Do you have your own vintage car?" Eddie wasn’t hugely into cars, as long as it got him from A to B, he was happy with whatever he had. He could appreciate vintage cars, but there was no way he could ever afford the upkeep on one. Some weeks making the payments on his truck was a struggle.

Shannon was now contributing to Christopher’s schooling, the physical therapy sessions, doctors’ appointments. Eddie was the one paying for Carla. Carla now only worked with them the weeks, Eddie had Christopher. There were times Shannon had hired Carla to help during her weeks, but Eddie never heard much about those days.

“My Dad used to have a 1969 Maserati. He taught me how to look after it. I grew up looking after cars. I loved it so much I ended up studying Mechanical Engineering at college. I own a 1969 Red Camaro. I am just finishing up fixing it up before I can take it out for a spin."

A waitress came to take their orders for drinks. At least they had a little more time to look through the menu.

“That is interesting. I could have been a doctor like my Dad if I didn’t drop out of Medical school. But in the end it wasn’t for me."

Eddie gave Buck a puzzled look. He had never heard that story before. He was about to ask him about it when Matthew spoke.

“Buck, Eddie. How did you two meet?" Matthew asked intrigued. Eddie doesn’t even think Shannon knew the story of how they met.

“You never got around to tell me this story either." Shannon turned her attention onto Eddie.

“It was my first day at the 118 fire station. I was just out of the academy and I had been recruited by Captain Bobby Nash to join his team. Buck and I didn’t get along, to begin with. He seemed to hate me on sight."

“I did not hate you. I was maybe a little jealous of you. I had been there a year by the time you arrived. Everyone had only really just warmed up to me when you waltzed in and everyone loved you immediately."

Buck peeked at Eddie sheepishly. 

“Well, I know that now. Buck got over himself pretty quickly after we helped a man who had a live grenade in his leg."

“How the hell does that even happen?" Matthew blurted out.

“He thought it was a practice round, he had just been cleaning it for his collection before it went off and fired into his legs nicking his femoral artery. We had to work quickly before he bled out."

“Would not have expected that."

“Neither did we, to be honest." 

Their drinks were brought over and they ordered dinner. At least the double date was going well so far. It wasn’t too awkward. At least Matthew didn’t seem to be homophobic.

Matthew and Shannon had met when her car had broken down and it just happened to be towed to Matthew’s shop. Turns out Shannon’s car had needed major repairs and they ended up chatting a few times on the phone when he was letting her know how the repairs were going.

He ended up asking her on a date, they’ve now been dating a couple of months at this point and it seemed to be going well.

Christopher was warming up to the idea of Matthew. They had met for the first time a couple of days ago. Christopher usually warmed up to people quickly, but it seems he was still a little unsure about his Mom’s boyfriend. Luckily, Eddie never had that problem. Christopher adored Buck; Christopher had been wanting them to get together for a long time. Eddie was a bit unclear on how long exactly Christopher had been wanting Buck and Eddie to be together. It did still take him a little bit to get used to that Buck and Eddie were now together. 

After Christopher had accepted that his parents weren't together anymore. Eddie thinks Christopher was mostly just confused with Shannon leaving, then coming back and then her and Eddie divorcing. It was a lot of change. He finally understood his parents divorcing and what that meant. He knew that his parents would start dating other people eventually.

Matthew didn’t have that advantage of Christopher, knowing him before he asked his Mom out.

Christopher was a gentle child. He would never be outright rude to someone. He was allowed to have time to get used to the idea of his parents dating other people.

Matthew was nice enough. They all seemed to be getting along. The rest of the evenings' conversations centered around their families, jobs they had growing up, hobbies. There were a few awkward minutes of silence, but overall Buck thought the night went pretty well.

They ended up calling it a night early, as Buck and Eddie had an early shift in the morning that led into a 24-hour shift. They were only on call for 12 hours today. They had been scheduled on again, but for a longer shift tomorrow, they were covering for a couple of other firefighters that were out with a virus.

After paying they walked out of the restaurant together. Shannon and Matthew had parked in the opposite direction to Buck and Eddie.

“Well, this was a nice evening. Matthew, it was nice to meet you. We’ll have to catch up again sometime." Buck stuck his hand out to shake Matthew’s.

“It was nice to meet you as well Buck. You too, Eddie." Matthew quickly shook Buck and Eddie’s hands.

“Well, I definitely had a good time. It was nice getting out of the house." Shannon piped up. There was some weird tension happening. It was a little awkward. How did you end a double date?

Buck gave Shannon a quick hug to say good night. Eddie said his own farewells to the pair. He was getting a strange look from Matthew.

They waved goodbye and headed off down the street.

“Is it just me. Or was Matthew a bit uncomfortable at the end?" Eddie wrapped his arm around Buck’s waist and whispered in his ear.

“Just a little. You and Shannon are divorced now. What does Matthew expect you to do? Come on to her?"

“I have you now. Why would I need any other partner?" Eddie whispered into Buck’s ear and he could feel Buck shiver against him.

“Not here. Later." Buck pressed a kiss to Eddie’s cheek, and they kept walking down the street to where they parked the truck.

Eddie squeezed Buck’s hand and followed alongside, the air around them was warm, it was the middle of summer.

“What was that about you dropping out of Medical School?"


	8. Flashbacks

_July 2019_

Buck and Eddie were walking hand in hand down the street.

“I wanted to be a doctor just like my Dad. I had planned to study Paediatrics like him. I used to volunteer at the hospital where he worked. I cuddled babies. On days I didn’t do that I shadowed my Dad. I had fallen in love with becoming a doctor."

Eddie smiled softly at Buck. “I can definitely see you volunteering to cuddle babies. Why don’t you do it again here?"

“I would like to, but our schedule is just a bit nuts. Maybe I’ll look into it."

Eddie’s truck came into view, they walked towards it and started the journey back to Eddie’s home.

“Anyway, as I was saying. I spent my last two years of high school volunteering and studying. I also did theatre where I could, but studying was one of my main priorities. After taking the, MCAT I got offered scholarships to a few different schools. I got into Harvard Medical School and decided that was going to be my choice. I loved being there. I was enjoying learning everything I could. I got halfway through my first year of Medical School. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t enjoying it as much anymore. I was losing my passion for becoming a doctor. To be honest, I was lost."

“I know what you mean. After leaving the military I had no idea what to do with myself. I was lost. I was learning how to be a single parent and find something I wanted to do next. It is hard to find yourself afterwards."

Buck grabbed Eddie’s hand and squeezed.

“I continued to stick out the rest of the year. I thought I would get my drive back if I just stuck it out. If anything, I just got dragged down further. My grades never suffered, but my mental health did. It was like I was having an out of body experience. Like I wasn’t even the one going to my classes anymore."

Eddie didn’t say anything he was just listening to Buck talk. He pulled into his driveway, turned off the truck and took off his seatbelt.

“Let’s go inside."

“While on break between my first and second year of Medical School my Dad started noticing that I wasn’t myself. I was just sort of drifting by this point. He ended up sitting me down and asking what I wanted to do. Did I want to keep on going through Medical School? Or did I want to try something else? Mom and Dad were never going to force me to stay in something that wasn’t working for me anymore. I decided to give Medical School one more try. I’d do my second year. I’d decide from there."

Now they were curled up together on the couch. They were wrapped up with each other. Buck had his head resting on Eddie’s shoulder and an arm across Eddie’s chest.

“I enjoyed my second year a lot more than in my first year. I got to study pediatrics, even doing what I went to Med School for wasn’t helping. If anything, I got worse. My professors were starting to notice, it wasn’t that my grades were slipping. I just wasn’t all there. The classes were pretty large, but they had managed to single me out. I had a one on one conversation with one of my professors about what was I still doing there if I wasn’t feeling it anymore? They were right. Was I still doing there? I finished out my second year and I decided I was finished. I had enough. I dropped out."

Eddie was running a hand down Buck’s arm in a soothing motion.

“What did you end up doing after dropping out?"

“I went home for a couple of weeks to make my next step plans. I decided to travel for a few months. I went to England, Europe, Australia, the Cook Islands from there I made my way to Argentina. I stayed in Argentina for six months bartending. I was getting back to myself again. When I was twenty-three, I decided to go for the SEALS. The physical part was a breeze, the emotional side of it is what threw me. I wasn’t able to turn it off. That was a different story. I struggled with how to keep myself. I didn’t want to be known as a quitter. I had already quit Medical School and now I was wanting to quit at something else. I stayed away from home for a year after that. I was lost again. I didn’t want to go crawling back home. I moved to LA and was bartending here for a while before one day running into an LAFD recruiter. Something sparked in me that day. I had found what I had been looking for."

Eddie curled up around Buck tighter.

“I am proud of you for doing what you needed to do to keep going. I wish I were as strong as you. Even though you were struggling and lost, you managed to get through fighting. I’m glad you joined the LAFD and the 118 if you hadn’t, we never would have met."

Eddie spoke softly into Buck’s ear.

“Thank you for listening to me." Buck pressed his lips gently to Eddie’s. They must have fallen asleep on the couch as that was the last thing he remembers.

_

_Flashback_

_September 2017_

“Come on. I’ll drive you.”

Buck gestured to his Jeep. They had a long day. They had been evacuating a high rise after a 7.1 earthquake.

Eddie was getting anxious. He needed to go get Christopher from his school but didn’t have a way there.

“Are you sure? I can’t ask you to do that." Eddie looked like he wanted to agree badly but didn’t want Buck to go out of his way to help him.

“Man. We’re friends. Let me do this for you." Buck ended up having to drag Eddie to his Jeep.

“Direct me." Buck quipped as he started the Jeep.

Eddie started firing off directions.

“Eddie, Man. One at a time." Buck laughed and took the first set of directions towards Christopher’s school.

The ride was silent other than Eddie giving directions when needed. Finally, they ended up pulling into the school’s parking lot.

Eddie shot out of the Jeep and ran towards his son who was waiting in the foyer of the building. Buck watched from the driver’s seat with a smile on his face. 

Seems like Buck was right. School was one of the safest places for Christopher to be.

Buck unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the Jeep and started making his way towards Eddie and Christopher. He didn’t know if he was overstepping by wanting to introduce himself to Christopher.

Eddie and Christopher started making their way out of the building and towards Buck.

“You both ready to go home?" Buck asked cheerfully as he could muster. He was exhausted, he knew Eddie must be as well. It was a long day. It was also emotional. With Eddie being away from Christopher and not being able to get hold of him and Hen going missing under a pile of rubble. It was just a long day.

They had to be back again tomorrow for clean up duty. They also had to clean up the mess that was their firehouse.

"I just need to fall face first and sleep until my alarm." Eddie yawned tiredly and rubbed his eyes.

“Tell me about it, man. I am not looking forward to clean up tomorrow."

“I forgot all about it until now. Thank you." Eddie grumbled playfully.

“Hi, little man. My name is Buck. I work with your Dad." Buck had crouched down and stuck out his hand for Christopher to shake.

“You’re a firefighter, too?" Christopher was wide-eyed and in awe.

“Sure am. It is nice to meet you..." Buck trailed off waiting for Christopher to introduce himself. Buck already knew his name obviously, but he wanted to give Christopher a chance to introduce himself.

“Christopher. You’re really tall."

Buck laughed. “Definitely taller than your dad."

Eddie rolled his eyes and started directing them back to the Jeep. 

As they walked back to Buck’s Jeep Christopher was chatting away about what happened at the school during the earthquake.

“What did you do today, Bucky, Daddy?"

Buck and Eddie glanced at each other. How much do they actually tell him? They definitely wouldn’t mention that man falling out of the window while Eddie was trying to save him.

Eddie started directing Buck towards his place to drop him and Christopher off. They were slowly maneuvering through traffic and the cracks in the road.

“Uh, we got called out to a collapsing high rise. We were in charge of evacuating people."

Eddie hesitantly answered Christopher’s question.

“I had to climb down an elevator shaft. Your Dad had gone down before me with someone we had rescued. It was our only way out." That was probably the extent they could tell him, everything else included his Dad nearly falling out of a window, Hen going missing and the man dying after falling out of the window.

“What is your favorite subject in school Christopher?" Buck quickly changed the subject before Christopher could ask any other questions. 

Christopher talked about his favorite subject being science and how he liked doing experiments.

“Science was one of my best subjects in school. My Dad is a doctor. He works with children in a field called pediatrics. He mostly works with babies. He used to help me with my science homework. If you ever need any help. I am happy to help you."

Buck hoped he didn’t overstep and over help where it wasn’t wanted. Buck stilled retained plenty of his knowledge from Medical School, he could have trained further to be a firefighter paramedic but maybe he would do that a little further down the track if he ever felt like it.

“Yes, please. Can we do experiments?" Christopher pleaded.

“Sure, Buddy we can do that. You can let your Dad know when you need help and he can send for me."

Buck pulled up in front of Eddie’s home and turned off the Jeep.

“Here we are." Eddie unclipped his seatbelt and hopped out of the car and headed to help Christopher out of the back. Buck hopped out to say good night to the father and son duo.

“Alright. Christopher. It was awesome meeting, you Superman. Let me know when you need science help and I will be there. Hopefully, we’ll see each other before then."

Christopher shyly waved goodbye and started to make his way to the front door to wait for his dad.

Eddie threw his arms around Buck and hugged him tightly. “Thank you." He muttered into Buck’s ear.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow."

Buck turned back to his Jeep and headed off ready to just fall asleep.

_

_Flashback_

_May 2019_

Buck didn’t know what he was feeling right now. Abby had called him for the first time in over a year. She had said she was back in LA for a few days and wanted to catch up. Buck had been conflicted.

Buck wanted to see her. Of course he did. He just didn’t know how he would feel when he finally saw her again.

Eddie urged him to go. He knew Buck needed the closure. Buck and Eddie had been dating for a month now. Everything had been going well. Eddie was a little jealous and scared. He didn’t want to lose Buck. He trusted Buck, but there was still an irrational part of him that hoped that Buck wouldn’t just up and leave him when he saw Abby again.

Buck was sitting in a café tapping his foot. He wished Eddie was here with him. But instead of being here with Buck, Eddie just had to be on shift. Buck would be joining Eddie at the station later for his own shift. Bobby had let him come in a little later as he was meeting up with Abby he was supposed to head into the station in a couple of hours. 

Abby was supposed to be meeting up with him in a few minutes. Buck was fiddling with his phone when it chimed. There was a message from Eddie.

_Thinking of you xx_

A bright smile came over Buck’s face when he read the message.

Buck replied with: _Missing you xx._

“Buck." Buck’s head snapped up; he was Abby standing in front of him looking nervous. He quickly stood up.

“Abby," Buck cleared his throat. “It’s good to see you."

He sat back down, and Abby sat across from him.

“How are you doing Buck?" Their relationship didn’t feel the same anymore. They used to be comfortable talking to each other, but now it was just awkward. They didn’t know what to say to each other anymore. It wasn’t as comfortable as it used to be. 

“I’m doing really well. Now at least. I had a bad year last year."

“What happened?” She asked concerned. She didn’t realize how much of his bad year had to do with her. He didn’t want to put it all on her, but she hurt him by leaving abruptly. There had been no closure at all.

“What didn’t happen? To be honest. I was hung up on you for a long time. It took me a long time to realize I had to move on, I couldn’t wait for you forever. It wasn’t fair to me. I got crushed by the 118 ladder truck after a kid who held a grudge against Bobby put a bomb underneath it. I had a pulmonary embolism; I was caught in a tsunami and I stupidly filed a lawsuit against the LAFD and my team."

“Wow, you weren’t kidding that you didn’t have a good year," She looked guilty.

“Listen, Buck. I’m sorry I left you how I did. I wasn’t thinking of us at the time. I just had to get out and as far away as possible. I was essentially ghosting you for a long time. After I got your letter, I knew I should have said something to you sooner. I didn’t want to lead you on, and I see that I did."

“You’re right. You should have said something sooner. I was holding on to what I thought was coming back to me. I am finally happy now and I hope you are, too."

Abby smiled sadly. She was happy. But she hated herself for how she had made Buck feel.

“I am happy. I am engaged.” Buck froze a little. There would always be a part of him that would always love Abby. He was happy with Eddie and Christopher. Before Eddie and Christopher became his entire world, he used to think about what would have happened if Abby had never left. Where would they be now? Would they still be together? Would they have broken up? Would they be getting married? Buck always hated dwelling on that side of his past. It always made him upset. He had been feeling lonely and wondered why everyone he ever felt a romantic connection to had left him. His recovery period wasn’t a good time in his life. He hadn’t been himself for a long time. It took a long time afterward to get back to himself.

“Congratulations. I really do hope you are happy with your life Abby."

“Thank you. After all my traveling, I ended up settling down in Ireland. I met a nice man, we got engaged a few months ago. He is still in Ireland. I head back in a couple of days to start planning the wedding. Also heading back to work."

At that moment Buck realized. He was never meant to be in Abby’s life long-term. He was only supposed to help guide her towards her future. He just never wanted it to happen the way it did. In

“I am happy for you, truly. I realize now we were never meant for each other long-term. You helped me grow into a better person. Some part of me will always love you for that. I realize now I was just there to help you to want to live again."

“I always had that thought. You were a great support to me during that time. At the time I didn’t know what I needed. I’m sorry that in the end, it wasn’t you. I will forever be grateful to you. What about you? Do you have anyone special?"

Abby asked Buck softly. She hoped he did. He deserved it after everything she had put him through. A look came over Buck’s face. He was filled with joy. His eyes had lit up.

“I do. His name is Eddie. He and I have been dating for a month now. We’ve been best friends almost since the day he started at the 118. Which was just under two years ago, I think. Falling for him felt natural, I didn’t really notice it at first. He and his son Christopher have made me the happiest I have ever been."

Abby wasn’t really surprised that Buck was dating a man. He seemed to be enjoying life. He had made the best out of the situation she had left him in. Buck opened a picture on his phone of him, Eddie and Eddie’s son Christopher. They looked like a family. Eddie was a handsome man and Christopher was adorable. She could tell he melts hearts wherever he goes.

“This is all I ever wanted for you, Buck. I’m glad you are happy."

They spent another hour catching each other up on their lives. Abby was meeting up with Carla tomorrow. They had all finally moved on. Buck felt like he was free. He wanted to go straight to see Eddie and tell him that he loved him. They had already said it before, it wasn’t exactly new to them. The first time they had said it wasn’t the most romantic setting. They had been crying all over each other when Eddie had said it first. Buck wouldn’t have it any other way.

Buck and Abby walked out of the café getting ready to say goodbye. Buck brought Abby into his arms for a quick hug.

“Congratulations on the engagement. I hope you’ll be happy Abby."

_

Buck walked into the station ready to start his shift and saw Eddie washing one of the trucks.

Buck came up behind him and wrapped Eddie in his arms, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

“What’s this for?" Eddie laughed, turning in Buck’s arms.

“I just love you."


	9. Meet The Diaz Family

_May 2020_

“What is your family like Eddie?" Evelyn asked curiously. They were headed to a sort of family reunion between the Buckleys and almost the entire Diaz family.

“We are a close-knit family I guess. We all don’t get to see each other as often as most of them are in El Paso. I love my family, but sometimes they can be a bit much."

Eddie didn’t really know how to describe his family. They were a bit all over the place, to be honest. They were headed to Abuela’s house. There was going to be a multitude of people there tonight. They even managed to get a few of the cousins to come out.

Buck hadn’t seen Ramon and Helena since Eddie’s End of Probation ceremony. He had spoken to them on the phone before, they hadn’t been out to visit again.

Buck didn’t know what Ramon and Helena would be like in person. Last time Buck had seen them in person he and Eddie weren’t dating yet. They weren’t even close to dating. They had always seemed happy to talk to him on the phone, but that was a bit different than in person.

Eddie pulled his truck up to Abuela’s home. Some of Eddie’s family were staying at a motel they must have Ubered over. Since Abuela's house wouldn't hold all of Eddie's sisters and their children plus their husbands. Then the cousins. 

Elijah helped Christopher out of the truck and placed him on the ground. Christopher excitedly moved towards Isabel’s front door; he was excited to see his cousins. He didn’t get to see them often enough since he and his Dad had moved to Los Angeles. 

Eddie walked up to the front door before he could open it the door flew open revealing Eddie’s sister Sofia. She was the middle child. 

“Eddie! Finally! Took you long enough to get here." She shoved Eddie inside Abuela’s house and stepped out herself and came over to Buck.

“I can’t believe we haven’t actually met before and you’ve been dating my baby brother for a year." Sofia threw her arms around Buck and squeezed him tightly.

Buck laughed. “I know right. It is good to finally meet you in person Sofia."

“Sofia, these are my parents. Elijah and Evelyn."

Sofia stepped up to Evelyn and wrapped her in a hug. “Glad you all could make it. Come on in. The party has only just begun."

Sofia hugged Elijah and grabbed his hand and started dragging him into the house. Evelyn laughed and looped her arm with Evan’s, and they walked inside Abuela’s house.

Eddie was standing in the dining room talking to Isabel and a couple of his cousins Miguel and Adriana. Buck could see Eddie’s other sisters Gabriela and Mariana sitting in the living room talking to Pepa and Helena.

Christopher had gone out the back with his cousins to play before dinner.

Buck was intercepted by Ramon.

“Evan. It is good to see you again Mijo."

“Ramon. It has been too long." Ramon had always loved Evan. Not that Buck really knew that. They had met for the first time at Eddie’s Probationary Ceremony. Once Eddie had told Ramon and Helena, he was dating Buck they were excited for him. They had been wondering if it was ever going to happen. Eddie and Shannon had just decided to get a divorce when they had met Buck for the first time. Even after that was over Eddie had taken his time at asking Buck out. They had tried to push him along a little, but they knew he needed time for himself to decide how he needed to grow as a person to be the best version of himself for Buck.

Ramon gave Buck an one-armed hug and slapped him on the back. He noticed the people standing behind Buck.

“These must be your parents. Elijah and Evelyn, right?"

He moved forward to greet them. Buck decided to leave them to it and went to find Helena.

Maddie and Chimney were supposed to be turning up soon, same with Shannon and Matthew. They wouldn’t be too far away. Isabel had been very specific about what time she wanted them to arrive.

Buck wandered over to Helena and Mariana. Pepa and Gabriela had gone to help Isabel in the kitchen. They were starting to bring dishes outside. It was a cool spring night, there was more room to sit together outside.

Marco was outside playing with the kids along with Eddie’s other cousin Maria. Eddie’s Uncle Emiliano had also made his way outside to hang with the kids.

“Evan. Finally, you made it. We were wondering when you’d get here." Helena made Buck sit down next to her.

“Eddie has never been able to shut up about you. I can see why."

“He isn’t that bad." Buck laughed. There was no way Eddie talked about him that much to his family. He didn’t talk to them often; he didn’t think Eddie would use that time to talk about Buck.

“You and Christopher are pretty much all he can talk about."

Buck flushed. He still didn’t understand how important he was to some people.

“It’s true Mijo. They both adore you. We can all see why."

“When are you and my brother going to make it official?"

“Mariana!" Helena hissed. “Leave him alone. They’ll get to it. Hopefully sometime soon."

Buck had already started looking for a ring for Eddie. He hadn’t found one that spoke to him yet. He wanted to ask Eddie to marry him, but no ring he found was right.

“I want to," Buck muttered quietly. “You can’t say anything to anyone. I’ve been trying to find a ring, but nothing I’ve found has been right for Eddie."

Helena had tears in her eyes.

“Mamà what’s wrong?" Eddie wandered over to them. He looked worried when he noticed the tears in his Mom's eyes.

“Nothing Mijo. I’m fine."

Eddie didn’t want to let it go. He looked over at Buck's eyes pleading.

“Eddie, Babe. She’s fine. Nothing to worry about. I promise."

_

Maddie and Chimney arrived, and they were dragged immediately off with Sofia and Gabriela to help wrangle the kids for dinner. With Maria, Emiliano and Marco. The kids were going crazy outside. Where did they get all that energy from?

Matthew and Shannon had arrived a little bit before Maddie and Chimney. Shannon was unsure of the welcome she’d get after divorcing Eddie. Eddie’s family had forgiven her, they always knew that Eddie and Shannon were never really happy together. Once they had divorced the Diaz’s were more welcoming to her. They tried to include her and Matthew in the conversations. They didn’t want to leave anyone out. That wasn’t what family was.

_

Buck had been introduced to all the nieces and nephews as well as the husbands of Eddie’s sisters. Gabriela, Eddie’s oldest sister was married to Sebastiàn they had two girls Camila and Emilia. Camila was sixteen nearing seventeen and Emilia was thirteen.

Sofia the second oldest was married to Raphael they had three children: two boys and a girl. Lucas, Antonio, and Juliana. They were fifteen, ten and thirteen. At least here Christopher had his cousins that were around his own age to play with. They all seemed to get along. They never left Christopher behind. They always included him; they didn’t even have to be told by their parents to include him. The whole family loved each other unconditionally. They never saw him differently because of his Cerebral Palsy. 

Mariana was a couple of years older than Eddie. She was married to Javier. They had two children. One of each gender. Kiara and Leo. Kiara was twelve and Leo was nine.

Pepa’s husband Nicolàs was unable to make it for tonight’s dinner. He had been called into work. Buck had only met him a few times in passing. They hadn’t had a chance to sit down and have a proper conversation with each other.

_

They made their way out the back and tried to find somewhere to sit. The kids had seated themselves on the edge of the porch.

The table seemed to be packed. Buck was squeezed up against Eddie and Sofia. There were too many people to sit around the table comfortably. Buck ended up getting out of his seat and finding a spot to sit on the grass. Christopher brought his plate over carefully and sat himself down on Buck’s lap.

It was a little awkward to eat this way, but it was definitely worth it to have Christopher this close.

“You have the right idea you two. It is too crowded at the table." Mariana came and sat across from Buck and Christopher with her own plate.

Buck held Christopher against his chest tightly. Christopher was trying to feed him, but it just ended up going everywhere.

“Superman. How about just for a moment you sit on the grass while we eat. Then after that, you can sit on my lap all you want."

Buck carefully maneuvered Christopher onto the grass next to Buck.

Next to join them on the grass was Shannon and Matthew.

“This is way less cramped than sitting at the table."

Marco and Maria decided to join the group sitting on the grass. The table was just too overcrowded. It wasn’t well thought out with the number of people that had come for dinner. 

The table had been slowly losing its members. People were slowing moving over to the group seated on the grass.

This family dinner was turning more into a family picnic.

Eddie walked over with Evelyn and they sat down on the other side of Buck.

“Buck, I think you’ve started something."

Soon enough, everyone was seated out on the grass. Isabel was seated on a chair, but she herself had joined the group.

Buck lay back on the grass and pulled Christopher down with him. Christopher curled up to Buck’s side. Buck listened to the laughter around him. He felt Eddie’s grip on his hand. Eddie’s thumb was softly running back and forth over his hand.

“Buck, are you falling asleep?" Chimney nudged Buck with his foot.

“No. I’m just listening."

It was peaceful listening to the laughter and chatting around him. His family only used to be him, Maddie and his parents. Now he had the family at the 118 and now Eddie’s family.

Helena and Pepa started to bring out blankets for everyone to wrap themselves in. It was a clear night. It wasn’t too cold, but the blankets helped take some of the chills away. Eddie had tucked himself tightly into Buck’s side while Christopher sat on his lap.

Conversation was beginning to die down. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the peaceful air around them. Even the kids had settled in with their parents.

Buck felt Christopher’s head settle onto his shoulder. It was getting late; it was passed Christopher’s bedtime. No wonder he had fallen asleep.

Buck offered his assistance and helping with clean up. Elijah now had hold of Christopher while Buck went to help out.

Eddie’s cousins had already bailed for the evening. They were headed back to their motel. Maddie and Chimney had said their goodbyes and goodnights and headed off as well.

Shannon and Matthew were outside picking up and folding the blankets that had been left out.

Slowly, as everyone else pitched in and made sure the kitchen and outdoor areas were clean. Isabel went around the house saying good night to everyone before excusing herself for the evening to head to bed.

“Last person out. Lock up."

Helena and Ramon were staying with Abuela they’d lock up once everyone else had left.

Eddie’s sisters and their husbands had taken the kids back to the motel. It had been a late night for everyone, and they were all ready for bed.

Shannon and Matthew had left for the evening. All that was left was Eddie, Buck, Christopher and Evelyn and Elijah.

Helena wrapped Buck in her arms and whispered in his ear. “Eddie will say yes whenever you decide to ask him."

Buck flushed. There was always the chance that Eddie would say no, but Buck was a lot more confident in himself than he used to be. He was ready to ask Eddie.

He now just had to find a ring. 

_

Buck, Eddie, and Christopher were taking Evelyn and Elijah to the airport. They were heading back to Pennsylvania today.

Maddie and Chimney were meeting them at the airport to say their goodbyes as well.

He knew his parents would never move to Los Angeles. They loved Pennsylvania too much. It was their home. Also, Los Angeles isn’t really a place they’d go to retire.

Buck understood their reasoning. They had so much to live for. Elijah had been talking about doing Doctors Without Borders for years. It was a good time for them to go. They still had just under nine months until they started on that new adventure.

As they walked into the airport, they saw Maddie and Chimney waiting for them.

They weren’t going to stay at the airport long. They had to get Christopher off to school and they all had to head off for their shifts.

Christopher and Evelyn had done some baking before heading over to Isobel’s house. It was nice they had that time to spend together. Eddie and Buck were spending time with Elijah playing board games. Buck and Elijah were very competitive when it came to board games. Especially against each other.

Christopher enjoyed spending time doing science experiments with Elijah. They finished up doing Christopher’s science project together. Christopher ended up expressing further interest in science. There was definitely a passion ready to be nourished into something more. Elijah had made it sound fun. He didn’t overcomplicate it for him. He made the experiments easy to follow. Luckily, they hadn’t destroyed the kitchen. Who knew he may become a doctor once he is older.

It had been nice having his parents around. Having them meet the families they had made for themselves here in LA. Meeting Eddie’s family and the rest of the 118.

“Is this where you leave us?" Elijah quipped.

“Yeah. We can’t stay for long. We have to get this one to school." Buck stepped forward and hugged his dad.

“Hopefully, we’ll get to see you before your trip with DWB."

“Like I said. If there are any major life events you’re planning. Please have them before we go."

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever Dad. Love you."

Buck rolled his eyes and took over from Maddie. Maddie had just finished saying goodbye to their Mom.

“My sweet boy." His Mom didn’t need to say anything more than that. Goodbyes were hard for her. He had always known that. She cried for a long time while saying goodbye to him when he left home for college. That hadn't been long after they reconnected after everything. It was much harder for her to let him go after that. Evelyn loved having her family around her. It was hard for her to let them go once she was around them.

She would call him once a week to check in to make sure he was still alive. It was hard for her when Maddie had cut off contact with them all for those three years. They had no idea what was happening to her. There had been no way to contact her. It was like she was screening their calls if only to protect them from Doug.

Elijah was clinging onto Christopher. They had grown close on this trip. Evelyn and Elijah had gained a grandchild. They didn’t know if they’d ever have this.

Eddie had lifted Evelyn into a bearhug. “I promise." Buck heard Eddie whisper to Evelyn. Eddie was probably promising to keep him out of trouble. She had the same conversation with Bobby at dinner the other night.

Why does everyone think he’s the one who gets himself into trouble?

Elijah had finally let Christopher go and now was saying goodbye to Chimney. Eddie was waiting patiently to say his own goodbyes. He was chatting to Maddie off to the side of the group. LAX was sprawling with people heading off to their own gates for the flights and there were people waiting for loved ones to arrive.

Eddie joined Chimney in saying goodbye to Elijah.

“Do you get the feeling we’ve been replaced?" Buck whispered to Maddie.

“Tell me about it."

Elijah and Evelyn stepped away from the group and made their way over to the check-in desk.

“It’s time to go."

They walked out of the airport and headed off to their respective vehicles.

“Where did we park again?"


	10. Can I Call Buck Papa?

_July 2020_

It was Shannon’s week to have Christopher. They had slowly gotten into a week on week off routine with Christopher. It was working for them. They had made it so there were no fights about custody. They respected each other enough to make it work for Christopher.

The weeks she didn’t have Christopher near her were hard, but she also needed the break. She would spend the week off focussing on herself and her relationship with Matthew. She didn’t get the urge to run as often nowadays. Yet it still came up every now and then.

Matthew had been supportive of her. He had told her to begin with that he had been a bit uncomfortable about her closeness to Eddie. It was irrational. He saw how close Buck and Eddie were. He could see the connection between the pair but there was a part of him that thought that Shannon would go back to Eddie. He knew now that had nothing to worry about. Shannon and Eddie didn’t have those sort of feelings for each other anymore. They were now just connected to each other through Christopher. And Eddie was in love with Evan.

Matthew seemed to get along with Buck a lot more than he did with Eddie, but at least he was trying to get along with Eddie.

Matthew was supposed to be coming over later for dinner, Christopher had been warming up to him. Christopher wasn’t as close to Matthew as he was to Buck.

Christopher was interested in visiting Matthew’s Garage. He enjoyed being shown around the vintage cars, he was working on and had even left Christopher to help out with little things. Shannon was a little worried about Christopher being around heavy machinery, but Matthew always made sure that Christopher was safe throughout the visit.

Shannon knew that Christopher’s favorite place to hang out was the 118. The team would always keep an eye out for Christopher while he was there. They would take him out sometimes on calls that weren’t too dangerous or bloody. They didn’t want to traumatize him.

“Mommy?" Christopher asked. They were sitting at the coffee table in the lounge playing with Legos.

Eddie had told her before that Christopher just liked sticking the pieces together, he never made anything that looked like anything.

“Yeah, baby?"

“Can people have two Dads?"

Christopher asked timidly. He wasn’t looking at her. He was fiddling with the Lego in front of him.

Shannon swallowed. Where was Christopher going with this? Self-doubt began to wash over her. Was she going to be replaced? Had Eddie put him up to this? Shannon shook her head. After everything she had been through with Eddie, she knew he wasn’t a cruel man. He would do anything like that to her.

“Sure, baby. People can absolutely have two Dads or two Moms or there are single parents as well. Like your Dad used to be when I was away." Shannon trailed off. She still felt guilty about that.

“Would it be alright with you if I call Buck, Papa?"

That’s where he was going with this line of questioning. Shannon didn’t know how she felt about it, to be honest. It wasn’t up to her. If it was something that Christopher wanted, She’d have to get over it and she was going to have to support Christopher no matter what her feelings were on the matter.

“Baby. It isn’t up to me. That is something you need to talk to Buck about."

Christopher came over to her and sat in her lap and curled up into her. He hadn’t done this in a long time.

“It’s not- I just want- I want Bucky to have a-“ Christopher kept stumbling over his words.

“Take your time." She stroked Christopher’s hair. She was nervous. She didn’t know what to expect out of this conversation now.

“I don’t want Bucky to leave. Him being my Papa means he’ll never leave, right?" Shannon’s heart shattered.

This was all her fault. If she had never left Christopher wouldn’t have these abandonment issues.

Christopher hadn’t been trying to replace her, he had been trying to hold on tightly to his family.

“I can’t speak for him, but what I know of Buck he’ll never want to leave you on purpose."

Shannon sat holding Christopher, it had been an emotionally exhausting day. She still had to work on her insecurities. Buck wasn’t trying to steal her family from her. He wanted to join their family like he had accepted her into his.

_

Shannon was dropping Christopher off with Buck today. She had been called into work and Eddie was on shift. Buck had volunteered to watch Chris for her.

“Be good for Buck. I’ll pick you up tonight." Shannon knelt in front of Christopher; Buck was watching them from the doorway.

“Bye Mommy." Christopher moved quickly over to Buck and made his way inside. Buck waved to her and followed Christopher inside.

Shannon turned back to her car and headed off to work. Buck was a good man. He’d take care of Christopher. It was just going to take her some time to get used to Christopher calling Buck, Papa.

_

“What do we want to do today, Superman?"

Buck pulled Christopher onto the couch with him and Christopher curled into his side.

“Can we go to the park?"

_

Buck had taken Christopher to the nearest park. There were a lot of other parents smattered around the park with their children.

“The swings are free. Do you want to have a go?"

Buck and Christopher were walking towards the swing set. Christopher set his crutches down off to the side. He picked a swing and Buck helped him settle himself in place.

“You ready?"

Christopher nodded and gripped the chains tightly in his hands. Buck started off pushing Christopher soft.

“Bucky higher." Christopher laughed, looking back at Buck. Buck grinned and pushed Christopher a little firmer to make the swing go a little higher.

Buck started daydreaming a little while pushing Christopher on the swing. He still needed to find a ring for Eddie before he proposed. He wanted something sturdy that was along practical, but also something that looks stylish. He hadn’t found anything that met his criteria. If anything, it would be better if he found a jeweler and sat with them to design the ring himself.

He was being picky, and he knew that, but he wanted something that symbolized their family they had made together.

“Papa, you are daydreaming." Christopher laughed. The swing had slowed down and Christopher was sitting and waiting for Buck to continue pushing him.

Buck stopped. He must have heard that wrong. There was no way Christopher had called him papa.

Buck’s eyes started welling up involuntarily. Christopher had stopped the swinging completely and eased himself off the swing and stood in front of Buck.

“Papa? Are you ok?" Buck crouched down and Christopher put a hand to his cheek. Buck had lost it in the middle of the park. Buck cupped Christopher’s cheek and looked into his eyes.

Buck’s lip trembled. “Did?-“ Buck didn’t know what to say. It hadn’t been a slip of the tongue as Christopher had already said Papa twice well, what Buck had heard anyway. 

Buck was overwhelmed. He didn’t know what he was feeling other than joy.

“Can you keep pushing me on the swing Papa?" Christopher asked timidly, shuffling his feet in the bark that surrounded the swings.

Buck laughed wetly. “Sure Babe." Buck lifted Christopher back on the swing and continued to push him higher on the swing. They’d work everything out later.

_

Shannon had just picked Christopher up and hugged Buck tightly goodbye.

“Love you, Papa." Christopher turned and followed Shannon to the car to head off back to Shannon’s for the rest of the week.

_

Eddie was supposed to be arriving home soon. Buck was standing in their kitchen trying to cook dinner. His mind was still racing. Did Eddie know? Did Shannon know? Would Shannon be upset? How did he bring it up to Eddie?

Buck was on the verge of panic when Eddie stepped inside the house.

“Hey! I’m home!-“ Eddie cut himself off when he saw Buck’s pale face and trembling body.

“What happened?" Eddie started panicking. Had something happened to Christopher? Buck would have called him if something had happened.

“It’s fine. I’m fine." Buck sat down on their kitchen floor with his head between his legs. Eddie joined him on the floor.

“What are we doing down here?"

“Christopher called me Papa today." Buck managed to get out through gasping breaths.

“And this is causing you to panic why?" Eddie was seriously confused. He thought that this was something Buck had wanted.

“You aren’t mad?" Buck asked shyly.

“What reason would there be for me to get mad?"

Buck curled himself into Eddie’s side and tried to calm his breathing. From Eddie’s attitude about the whole situation, there was nothing to panic about.

“Christopher didn’t talk to you about it..."

Eddie laughed incredulously. “Buck. He spoke to me about it over a week ago. He’s even spoken to Shannon about it. We approve. Anyway. It isn’t our decision; it’s what Christopher wants. Not that I don’t want it. I definitely do. Shannon approves, it is just going to take her a little time to get used to the idea."

There was nothing to worry about. Buck started crying again. What was this family doing to him?


	11. Design The Ring

_August 2020_

On Buck’s next day off he made his way to a jeweler that had come highly recommended for custom jewelry. Buck didn’t really know what sort of design he wanted. All he knew he didn’t want something too over the top. He wanted something subtle, with a little bit of design to it.

He had an appointment with the head designer. He sat down in a small office with David. They had set up a block of time to go over design ideas.

David already had a few designs sketched up along with a few mock-ups that he had 3D printed. They had discussed the ideas they had come up with and ended up blending a couple of ideas together. They discussed what metal Buck wanted to use. He was torn between Tungsten or Titanium. Tungsten was going to end up being a too heavy metal, he didn’t want the ring getting in the way at work.

They decided on a mostly black Titanium band, with small silver lines going around the band. The inside of the band was going to be silver Titanium. After they finished refining the details Buck paid half the price of the ring as a deposit and left the store to head to the station for his afternoon shift. David would call him within the next week or two to let him know when the ring was ready for collection.

_

Buck walked into the station twenty minutes before his shift started. He quickly changed into his uniform and joined the rest of his team upstairs for lunch.

“Hey, guys." Buck walked over to the table and sat down next to Eddie.

“Hey Buckaroo." Chimney handed him a plate with food piled on it.

Eddie leaned into Buck’s side in greeting. They always tried to be professional on shift, they didn’t usually flaunt their relationship even though everyone already knew. They had brought a house together. Chimney and Hen still would tease them occasionally. It was normal for everyone to tease each other. Buck and Eddie mostly got teased for taking so long with getting together. 

“What have you been up to while we’ve been slaving away on shift?" Chimney quipped staring at Buck.

“Just ran a couple of errands I needed to catch up on."

“Chim. We’ve barely been called out today." Eddie nudged Chimney’s leg with his foot.

“Don’t jinx it!" Buck muttered while he started shoveling food into his mouth. If he didn’t eat quickly enough, then he wouldn’t get a chance to eat till later, the alarm usually goes off before they get to finish a meal.

Eddie jinxed it. The alarm went off. Buck groaned. He barely got a chance to eat anything.

They ran down to the trucks and headed out to their call.

_

Buck had been getting anxious. David called him this morning telling him that the ring was ready to be collected. He’d have to find an excuse to leave and head to the jewelry store. They had been chilling in the lounge watching a movie with Christopher.

Well, Christopher had fallen asleep partway through the movie. It was a bit strange. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet and Christopher had fallen asleep. Buck placed a hand to Christopher’s forehead.

It was a bit warmer than usual. Eddie looked down at Buck’s hand curiously.

“I think he might have a fever."

“I’ll grab the thermometer." Eddie eased himself off the couch making sure not to jostle Christopher.

As Eddie rummaged through the medicine cabinet looking for the thermometer, Buck stroked Christopher’s hair.

“I’m going to have to run out and get medicine. We’re all out." Eddie spoke softly, looking worried after taking Christopher’s temperature.

“I can do it. You stay here and look after Chris. It won’t be out too long." Buck shifted Christopher over to Eddie and Buck went to grab his wallet and keys.

Before he left, he went and pressed a kiss to Christopher’s forehead and then a gentle one to Eddie’s lips.

He’d use this time to go pick up the ring. Buck didn’t like that Christopher was sick, but he needed to go pick up the ring to propose to Eddie with.

He decided to make the trip to the drugstore last, he didn’t want to leave the medicine in the Jeep while he went into the jewelers.

Buck parked a couple of blocks away from the jewelry store and walked quickly in the direction of the store.

As he walked in, he saw David standing behind the counter serving a customer. Buck stood off to the side to wait for David to become free. He was approached a couple of times asking if he needed any help. He gently waved them off stating that he was waiting for David as he was picking up his piece of custom jewelry.

Buck wandered around the store looking at the displays while he waited. He had to remember on his way home to stop in at the drugstore. He didn’t want to forget Christopher’s medicine.

David called Buck over. He already had pulled out Buck’s order ready to show him the outcome of their design.

“What do you think?" David opened the ring box. Sitting in the box was a black and silver Titanium ring, it had definitely surpassed his expectations.

“It’s perfect.” Buck pulled the ring out gently from the box and looked it over completely. He now needed to get up the nerve to propose.

Buck carefully put the ring back into the box. He paid the remaining balance of the ring and slipped the ring into his pocket. He thanked David profusely for all his help with the designing of the ring.

Buck quickly walked back to his Jeep and made his way to the drugstore to find some children’s medicine for Christopher’s fever.

He fired off Eddie a text asking him if they needed to restock anything else for their medicine cabinet. Buck couldn’t remember exactly what they had.

Buck stood in front of the cold and flu medicine trying to find the usual one they stocked in their medicine cabinet. They were usually quite well-stocked, but they had been so busy lately that they hadn’t had time to restock the first aid kit that they kept under the sink in the master bathroom.

Eddie sent him a picture of the list of things that needed to be restocked. They didn’t usually have too many medical mishaps, but they always found it was good to be stocked up.

Buck had to grab a basket to carry everything they needed. He found the medicine they needed to get for Christopher. He then found the necessary items to restock the first aid kit.

He went up to the counter and quickly paid. He sent Eddie a message letting him know he was on his way home.

Buck doubled checked that he still had the ring box in his pocket. He didn’t want it falling out before he could get the chance to propose.

He should probably let Shannon know that Christopher had a cold just in case it had slipped Eddie’s mind. He dialed Shannon’s number and put the phone on speaker before setting off for home.

_“Buck is everything alright?"_ Shannon sounded worried. Buck didn’t usually call her.

“Hey, Shannon. Just letting you know that Christopher has a fever. I wasn’t sure if Eddie had contacted you or not yet."

_“He had not. Is Christopher ok?"_ Shannon sounded a lot more worried now that she knew that Christopher was sick. 

“I just had to go out and get medicine for him. Eddie is with him. He’s going to be fine. It is only a slight fever. We’re being a bit overly cautious." Buck tried to placate her. They were taking care of him. They’d let her know if Christopher got any worse.

“If you’re sure he’s alright." She was a bit hesitant. She knew they wouldn’t lie to her about their son, but she still worried.

“I promise to call you later to give you an update on the situation."

“Ok. Will talk to you later then. Give Christopher my love."

“I will." Buck hung up the phone, then set off for home.

_

Buck quickly made his way into the house. Eddie was seated on the couch with Christopher’s head in his lap on a pillow.

“Hey. How’s our boy doing?" Buck pressed a kiss to Eddie’s forehead and then crouched down to Christopher’s level and stroked his hair. He was a little warmer now than he was when Buck had left.

“Not great. I’ve already had a cold compress to his forehead for a bit." Buck then saw the face cloth off to the side.

“We need to give him the medicine. Can you sit him up?" Buck rummaged through the bag from the drugstore. He found what he was looking for. He made his way to the bathroom to find the medicine cup to make it easier for Christopher to drink the medicine.

Buck read the back of the box and measured out the correct dosage. He walked back to the living room and handed the small cup to Christopher who was only just awake.

Buck made his way to the kitchen to get Christopher his bottle of water that they kept in the fridge. They would have to keep the bottle replenished and Christopher hydrated if they wanted to flush out his cold.

Buck helped Christopher take a few sips of the water before letting him lay back down on his Dad’s lap.

“Do you need anything while I’m up?" Buck turned his questioning to Eddie.

“Can you get me my phone. I need to call Shannon."

“Already done. I called her on my way home."

“Thank you." Eddie pressed his lips to Buck’s. Seems like their day was now going to consist of them looking after Christopher. They sat listening to what movie was playing on the television. Buck was leaning into Eddie’s side with his head resting on Eddie’s shoulder. Buck was relaxed enough that he could easily fall asleep.

_

Buck woke up after a short nap. Eddie had moved Christopher to his own bedroom and come back and cuddled up with Buck. Buck got up to use the bathroom.

After washing his hands, he made his way back to the living room. Eddie was sat up holding something in his hands with an awestruck expression on his face.

Buck’s heart stopped. He patted his pockets of the jacket he hadn’t thought to take off yet and the ring box wasn’t in there.

Buck slowly walked over to Eddie and gently took the box out of his hand and knelt down in front of him. He really shouldn’t have kept the ring in his jacket pocket. But he was going to make the most out of the situation that was given to him.

“I don’t even know what to say right now. The ring falling out of my pocket sort of put an end to my plan, which I didn’t have yet by the way. I was getting there."

Eddie laughed breathlessly. His eyes tearing up.

“Anyway. It took me a long time to decide on a ring. I was quite picky. I ended up designing one myself with the help of David the jeweler. I want to marry you. I feel like I’ve been wanting this for a long time. Eddie, will you marry me?"

Buck was nervous. He had just put himself out there. There was always a chance for rejection.

“Yes. Fuck yes." Eddie cupped Buck’s face in hand and brought their lips together in a passionate kiss. Buck pulled away and took the ring from the box and slipped the ring onto Eddie’s left-hand ring finger. Buck wiped away Eddie’s tears that had slipped from his eyes. Eddie wrapped his arms around Buck tightly.

He had said yes. Buck was so filled with joy that he clung to Eddie tighter. Buck had his own tears running down his face.

“Daddy, Papa?" Christopher was walking towards them. He looked flushed from his fever and from the nap he had.

“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" Buck pulled away from Eddie. He wiped the tears from his eyes and walked over to Christopher. He pressed a hand to Christopher’s forehead to check his temperature. The medicine seemed to have kicked in. He wasn’t as warm as before. Eddie had gone to get the thermometer to get an accurate reading.

Buck grabbed Christopher’s drink bottle and helped him take a few sips. Eddie placed the thermometer against Christopher’s forehead for a few seconds.

“It’s definitely gone down." Eddie sighed in relief.

“Daddy? What’s that?" Christopher grabbed Eddie’s hand and brought it to eye level. Christopher ran his fingers of the Titanium band.

“Papa asked me to marry him." Eddie smiled joyfully at Buck.

Even though Christopher was sick, he threw himself into Eddie’s arms excitedly. 

“I thought you were already married."


	12. Epilogue

April 2023

It had been over a year since Buck and Eddie had gotten married. A lot had happened since then.

Maddie told Buck right before the ceremony that she was pregnant, but it was still a little early. Her and Chimney had just gotten engaged a couple of months prior. Buck didn’t really want to think about when their baby was conceived.

Maddie had given birth to a baby girl on August 13th, 2021. Ivy Claire Han. Maddie and Chimney then married when Ivy was six months old.

Christopher had been growing up too fast. He was now thirteen and just about to start high school in September.

Evelyn and Elijah ended up staying with Doctor’s Without Borders for a year. Coming back only to meet Ivy for the first time.

Buck and Eddie were still with the 118. Eddie had studied more and was now a full-fledged firefighter paramedic.

In the next few years, Bobby was wanting to retire. He had been training Buck to replace him as Captain. Buck tried to refuse at first not wanting to take the job from Chimney or Hen, but they didn’t want it. Neither did Eddie. Eddie was happy being a firefighter paramedic.

Eddie always knew eventually Buck would be running his own house. It wouldn’t be for another few years yet, but when it came. Buck would be ready.

Hen and Karen had become foster parents. They ended up adopting two boys a year after they started. Liam and Isaac joined the Wilson family officially. Then also the 118 families.

Athena took the lieutenants exam. Then decided she wanted to go for Captain of her own precinct. 

Matthew and Shannon were still together and happier than ever. A couple of months ago Matthew proposed and they will be getting married within the next year. Christopher had finally accepted that Matthew was going to be around for a long time yet.

Eddie and Buck were expecting twins any day now.

Maddie had agreed to become surrogate for Buck and Eddie. They asked her when Ivy was a year old. Buck didn’t want to ask at first. He didn’t know if it was something, he could ask his sister.

They had given her time to weigh the pros and cons, but ultimately, she had agreed and on the first round, she was expecting Buck and Eddie’s twins. Buck and Eddie were eager for their babies to arrive. They had already set up the nurseries now they just had to wait. Christopher was excited about finally getting a sibling, he was even more excited when he found out it was going to be twins.

_

Buck and Eddie were out on a call when Maddie called them saying she was in labor. They couldn’t exactly rush to go and see her, but as soon as they were able to they rushed off to the hospital to meet her. They were definitely panicking hoping that they hadn’t missed anything. 

What Maddie hadn’t told them was that as soon as she made it to the hospital and checked her out, they sent her right back home. Turns out it was a false alarm.

She was already at home by the time they had reached the hospital and she hadn’t thought to tell them before they rushed over.

_

They had been waiting for the call for the last few days. Every time the phone rang, they would be expecting either Maddie or Chimney. It was never them.

They were still going to be working up until Maddie gave birth. They didn’t know exactly when that would happen. Every shift they were on they were constantly on edge. Chimney was on shift with them, he kept trying to tell them that Maddie would contact them if anything had started. Not that they listened to him.

Maddie still had a couple of weeks to go, but they were told to expect that twins usually came early.

_

They were out on a call; they didn’t have any access to their phones. They were out rescuing a rock climber who had gotten stuck on the side of a cliff. There was no reception in the area, they had to rely on their radios for communication.

Buck and Eddie had to abseil down the cliff face to rescue the man who had gotten his foot stuck and couldn’t get it out.

If they had access to their phones, they would have known that Maddie had been calling everyone trying to get hold of Buck and Eddie to say she was at the hospital and was in labor. But no one was answering. Not Buck, nor Eddie. Not even her husband. She even tried Hen and Bobby. No one was answering her. 

She ended up calling Athena. Who thankfully answered the phone. Athena had rushed to the hospital to be with Maddie until Buck and Eddie arrived.

_

They finally got into range where they had reception. Hen was checking her phone and saw the missed calls from Maddie.

“Uh, guys. I think Maddie is trying to contact you."

Buck pulled out his phone and saw the twenty missed calls from Maddie. Three from Athena and multiple voicemails and texts.

“Oh fuck. Maddie is in labor!"

Bobby rerouted the truck and headed to the hospital Maddie was at. Change of plans they were not going back to the station.

Bobby would just have get their calls rerouted to other stations. They had to be there to welcome the newest members of the family.

_

Buck and Eddie rushed into the room where Maddie was in. Chimney had followed close behind. Athena was standing by Maddie holding her hand.

They had only just made it.

It turns out Maddie had been in labor all day and only tried to contact them a few hours ago. It wasn’t really their fault that they had been out of range and hadn’t received any of the phone calls from Maddie or Athena. Athena hadn’t even tried to radio them to get a message to Buck and Eddie. They wouldn’t have been able to get back till now anyway, but at least they would have known.

Maddie was eight centimeters dilated and it was almost ready to push. She was not impressed that it had taken them this long to get to her. They had a bloody fire truck with sirens and everything. 

“Seriously? Why did it take you this long to get here?!" Maddie curled in on herself. Buck walked up to Maddie and stroked the loose strands of hair away from her forehead.

“Sorry, Mads. We’re here now."

The next half hour was spent helping Maddie through her contractions. Athena had left the room to go wait with the others in the waiting room. Leaving Buck, Chimney, and Eddie to help Maddie bring Buck and Eddie’s twins into the world. 

Maddie’s midwife and an OBGYN came into the room to check over Maddie.

Chimney was sat behind Maddie holding onto her while Buck and Eddie were on either side of Maddie holding back her legs. It didn’t take long for baby number one to start crowning. Maddie had yelled at Buck and Eddie that they better not look.

Buck didn’t know how Maddie did it. She was a strong woman. He had always looked up to Maddie even when he was little. In his eyes, there was nothing his sister couldn’t do. He admired his sister. He was proud of her for getting up off the floor and getting away from Doug. Both times. Even though she had only given birth to Ivy just under two years prior she was now about to bring her brother and brother in law’s babies into the world.

“Baby number one is a boy."

They had already taken him away to be cleaned by the nurses while they got Maddie ready for baby number two. They didn’t know the genders of the babies ahead of time. They had a few names picked and they’d decide from there once they got to hold their babies.

They had to break Maddie’s waters to get the second baby ready.

Buck was getting choked up. Everything around him had blurred. He glanced over at Eddie. Eddie was trying to see their son. Their view was blocked. Buck was eager to see their new son. Buck turned back to focus on helping Maddie bring baby number two into the world.

What seemed like hours was only just minutes. Buck was muttering words of encouragement to his sister. He had no idea what he was saying, just that he was trying to be encouraging.

With a final push, Maddie had given birth to Buck and Eddie’s daughter.

_

Buck was holding onto their baby boy. He was so little. Buck brushed a finger over his rosy cheek, mesmerized. He had a little olive-green cap on under his little tufts of brown hair. They had him in a light gray onesie and swaddled in a light gray blanket.

Eddie was sitting down on a chair holding their daughter. They had her in a little white hat and white onesie. She was swaddled in a pale-yellow blanket. She had blonde hair with a slight curl to it. They were fraternal twins, they weren’t going to be identical. 

They were just waiting for the team to come into the room for introductions. Maddie was sitting up in bed watching Buck and Eddie hold the babies. She looked tired, but she didn’t want to sleep yet. She wanted to hear the names of the babies.

They had already sent Evelyn and Elijah pictures of the babies with the names. Same went for Helena and Ramon. They wouldn’t be able to come out for another couple of days.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Bobby, Athena and Hen stepped into the room. Abuela had brought Christopher along to meet his siblings.

“Everyone we want you to meet Greyson Edward Buckley-Diaz, born 3.40 pm and Willow Luna Buckley-Diaz born 3.55 pm."

There was still time for the rest of the family to meet the newest members.

They weren’t going anywhere.


End file.
